Karnataka sacred thread row: PU college principal, staff suspended

Principal and staff of Sai Spoorthi Pre-University College in Karnataka's Bidar district were suspended after a probe by the police confirmed that students were not allowed to take the Common Entrance Test (CET) for wearing the sacred thread (janivara/janeu), in violation of rules and guidelines.

Chandrashekhar Biradar, the principal of Sai Spoorthi Pre-University College in Bidar, and the college's invigilator Satish Pawar have been suspended on the order of the higher education department secretary K.G. Jagadeesha.

The action was taken immediately after Bidar deputy commissioner Shilpa Sharma submitted the report.

Meanwhile, Shivamogga deputy commissioner Gurudatta Hegade has denied allegations that a student’s 'janivara' (sacred thread) was cut by a security guard at a CET centre in the city on Friday, The Hindu reported.

After reviewing the CCTV footage from the centre, the DC confirmed that no such incident took place. This comes in response to allegations circulated, possibly via social media or other informal reports, which claimed that a student's religious symbol had been disrespected.

As Sai Spoorthi Pre-University College in Bidar is a private institution and comes under the jurisdiction of the Department of School Education (Pre-University), the instructions were given to direct the college management to suspend Principal Biradar and invigilator Pawar from duty and initiate disciplinary action against them.

Sharma submitted a detailed report to the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) mentioning that the incident occurred due to the negligence of Muddassir, an official from Aurad, who was the exam invigilator.

Although the candidate waited to be allowed into the exam, permission was not granted, Sharma said.

The DC mentioned in the report that Muddassir had violated KEA rules and committed a lapse in duty.

The Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights has also registered a suo motu complaint.

Besides, a police complaint has been filed against an officer attached to the Education Department on Saturday for allegedly denying entry to students wearing the sacred thread into the examination hall during the Common Entrance Test (CET) in Karnataka's Shivamogga district.

Suchivrat Kulkarni, the student who was denied the opportunity to write the CET exam, told the media that he was stopped. He said a staff member made a reckless comment, asking what would happen if someone committed suicide using the sacred thread inside the examination hall.

"When I questioned the staff about the reason for denying entry, they made loose and insensitive comments. I was allowed to write two exams, but denied entry for the Mathematics paper. They asked me to remove the sacred thread before entering the exam hall," he said.

"When I refused to remove it, they told me I wouldn't be allowed in. They asked, "What if you commit suicide inside?"

"I've lost a precious year of my life. This incident has caused immense pain to me and my family. We want justice," said Sachivrat.

Meanwhile, another student from Shivamogga had stated that authorities at his exam centre cut his sacred thread before allowing him to take the exam. He claimed the incident caused severe mental trauma.

With IANS inputs