NEET exam: Students made to remove Hijab in few Maharashtra, Rajasthan centres

Sporadic incidents of Hijabi students being stopped and made to remove their veils before entering the NEET exam centres have been reported from various states.

Kota (Raj)/Washim (Maha):Four Hijab-clad Muslim girl students were allegedly stopped by the police at Modi College Center located in Dadabari police station area of ​​Kota during the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on Sunday. The four Muslim girl students arrived at the centre wearing Hijab and were stopped by the police at the gate and asked to remove the veil citing the exam dress code.

Assistant Sub-Inspector Gita of the concerned police station said the girls refused to remove the hijab and were allowed inside the exam hall after the college principal took an undertaking from them that they themselves would be responsible for the consequences. Gita further informed that a total of 960 candidates appeared in the NEET exam at the centre.

Similarly, in Maharashtra's Washim, Muslim students alleged that they were asked to remove their hijab outside the NEET examination center at the Matoshree Shantabai Gote College Centre. A complaint was filed at Washim police station following the incident. In the police complaint, two students Iram Mohammad Zakir and Ariba Saman Ghazanfar Hussain said the officials of the examination centre misbehaved with them and threatened they would tear the hijab with a scissor if they did not remove them.

The students were forced to remove their hijab just outside the examination centre before they could appear for the test. Officials present at the gates of the centre asked the students to remove their burqa and hijab before entering the premises. "Furthermore, the exam invigilators inside the center behaved disrespectfully with the students," the complainants said.