A significant protest erupted outside St. Mary’s School in Kalaburagi, Karnataka, on Sunday, after a NEET (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test) candidate was allegedly asked to remove his sacred thread, known as "Janeu," before entering the examination hall. The incident has sparked widespread outrage among members of the Brahmin community, who have accused the examination officials of religious insensitivity.

Advocate Raghvendra Kulkarni, addressing the protest, stated, “He had come to appear for the NEET exam here at St. Mary’s College in Gulbarga. He came here at 1:30 in the morning. When he went inside for the NEET exam, the staff there told him that, as per their rules, students wearing religious threads or symbols (like the Janeu worn by Hindus in rural communities) must remove them to be allowed in for the exam.”

The candidate’s father recounted the distressing situation, saying, “The child had gone in for counselling about half an hour ago. What happened was that the child had a sacred thread (called ‘Janivaar’ or ‘Janeu’) worn according to our religion, and someone from the staff told him to remove it before entering. The child was crying and told us that he had to remove the thread to be allowed inside. He came outside crying and gave it to me (his father). I was standing outside the gate. I asked to go inside but was not allowed.”

In response to the incident, a large gathering of community members expressed their anger by staging a sit-in and raising slogans. They accused the authorities of failing to respect religious sentiments and adhere to government guidelines. The state government has since registered a case against the officials involved and issued new instructions to prevent such incidents in the future.

Members of the Brahmin community protested outside the NEET examination centre at St. Mary's School in Kalaburagi after the candidate, Shripad Patil, was made to remove his 'Janeu' (sacred thread) before being allowed to take the exam.

Union Minister Pralhad Joshi addressed the issue, stating, “NEET is being conducted by central govt..we have never said to remove 'Janeu'...we had instructed to check properly...this has happened only in one centre. FIR has been registered, I demand state govt to take appropriate action.” X (formerly Twitter)

Congress MP Imran Masood also commented on the incident, saying, “These are foolish things. Someone's wearing a talisman, someone has a Janeu, someone else is wearing something else — what's the point of all this nonsense? Why are you forcing people to remove such things? Why are you trying to take off someone’s religious symbol? You might be wearing a cross, or a talisman with the name of Allah — so let others wear what they want. What's the harm in that? These are useless issues — people who have nothing better to do are the ones making a fuss about this...”

The incident at St. Mary’s comes in the wake of heightened security measures for the NEET UG 2025 exam, conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA). This follows previous controversies, including a similar event during the April 16 Common Entrance Test (CET), where Brahmin candidates reportedly had their sacred threads removed.

Kulkarni further criticised the Karnataka government, stating, “The Karnataka government is responsible for this. All Janeu-wearing people and Hindus are boycotting this government. We are requesting that the staff and management involved in this incident be suspended.” He noted that the protest had broad community support and indicated plans to file a First Information Report (FIR) against those responsible.

He added that the protest outside St. Mary’s College had community support and warned of further action. “A protest is currently taking place in front of St. Mary’s College, and society is supporting us. After this protest, we are planning to file an FIR against the staff and management responsible for the removal of the Janeu,” he said.

As of now, neither the examination authorities nor the school management have released an official statement regarding the incident. The Karnataka government has also not responded to the allegations at the time of publishing.