Ordeal of frisking for NEET: Re-exam on September 4

The National Testing Agency (NTA) has decided to conduct NEET again for the girl students, who were allegedly forced to remove their undergarments before entering an exam centre in Kollam district of Kerala last month, official sources said on Saturday.

The re-examination would be held on September 4, said the sources.

"The NTA has allowed the affected students to re-appear for the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) on September 4 in Kollam. Besides Kollam, re-examination will be held for the affected candidates of two centres in Rajasthan, two in Madhya Pradesh and one in Uttar Pradesh," they said.

The issue of forcing the girls to remove their innerwear before entering an exam centre in Kollam district on July 17 created a huge uproar across the country.

Seven people, including five women, were arrested in connection with the removal of undergarments in the name of frisking to curb exam malpractice.

The issue came to light when the father of a 17-year-old girl told reporters that his daughter, who was sitting for her first-ever NEET, was yet to come out of the traumatic experience of having to sit for the over 3-hour-long exam without an undergarment.

The father had told reporters that his daughter was dressed as per the code mentioned in the NEET bulletin, but it did not say anything about innerwear.

The NTA formed a committee to conduct an inquiry.