LUCKNOW: A week after women candidates appearing for NEET in Kollam district of Kerala alleged that they were forced to remove innerwear before entering the exam centre, scores of male aspirants for recruitment of the first batch of Indian Air Force personnel under the Centre's Agnipath scheme exam alleged they were also asked to sit semi-naked and barefoot for over 85 minutes in the exam centre in Lucknow.
According to the written dress code issued under examination guidelines, full or long sleeves jackets, clothing with large buttons, shirts/T-shirts/kurta with pockets are not permitted inside the exam centre.
Further, only slippers and sandals with flat heels are allowed inside the exam centre.
Speaking to TOI, Rizwan Ali (19), the job aspirant who came from Kanpur Dehat in white shirt with full sleeves, said, "I sat for the entire exam shirtless and barefoot. I was only allowed to wear trousers with underwear. During my trip to Lucknow, my T-shirt and vest got wet in the rain, so I had to wear a white shirt."
He added, "A thorough frisking was done before I was allowed to enter inside the exam centre, but even after that the authorities did not allow me to put on the shirt."
Aditya Kumar, who came from Firozabad, said, "Since my shirt had a pocket, I was asked to appear in the vest. We understand that authorities need to keep strict vigil to prohibit any kind of ill-practices during the exam, but it does feel insulting to appear semi-naked for an exam."
Meanwhile, the PRO office of the defence department said, "Candidates are checked thoroughly before they are allowed inside the centre. We have not come across any complaint of candidates asked to appear semi-naked."
