CET student's janivara cut at Chikkaballapur exam centre

Chikkaballapur:  The controversy over the alleged removal of janivara (sacred thread) and other religious symbols during the KCET examination intensified on Saturday as the sacred thread of a student who had come to the Nagarajuna College of Engineering at Bidaganahalli in the taluk was cut during screening on Saturday.

The college falls within the Chintamani Assembly constituency represented by Higher Education Minister Dr M C Sudhakar.

The student, Supreeth, alleged that he had “Upanayana” (a ritual during which sacred thread is worn) 10 days ago. “I was told to remove janivara, but I refused. However, the personnel cut my sacred thread and threw it into a dustbin,” he said.

The leaders of the Brahmin community of Chintamani taluk and Supreeth’s mother have lodged a complaint with the deputy superintendent of police.

A political row erupted after Brahmin students were allegedly forced to remove the thread, considered sacred and worn across the torsos, at a college in Bengaluru in during the CET on Friday.

Students alleged that the invigilators at the college in Madiwala asked them to remove their sacred thread if they wanted to write the exam.