Kalaburagi, 4 May

Members of the Brahmin community staged a protest outside a NEET exam centre here, demanding accountability after some students of the community were asked to remove their "sacred thread" (Janivara) before entering the exam hall.

This incident comes close on the heels of a similar one during the Common Entrance Test held for engineering and other vocational courses on 16 April, where the sacred threads of Brahmin boys were alsoremoved.

Following the incident, the state government initiated action against the officials involved, including registration of a case. It also issued directions to prevent such occurrences in the future.

However, on Sunday, the Brahmin candidates were either asked to remove the sacred thread or had it cut before entering the exam hall.

Enraged over this, hundreds of community members gathered outside the NEET exam centre, raised slogans and staged a sit-in demonstration.

Protesters accused the government of "failing" to enforce its own instructions and repeatedly humiliating the community.