A college run by the Swaminarayan sect in Guajrat's Bhuj town has sparked controversy after ordering girl students to strip to check whether they were in period.
At least 68 girl students of Shree Sahajanand Girls Institute (SSGI) in Gujarat's Bhuj were allegedly forced to remove their underwear to prove that they were not menstruating.
The public crackdown on students came after the college administration thought that the girls were violating norms banning menstruating women from touching others and entering some spaces.
The diktat has now landed them into trouble with both the state and the national woman commission.
On Saturday, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said that the government had taken the incident "very seriously".
"The Government has issued orders to home department and education department to take strict action. An FIR was lodged yesterday," he said.
Earlier, on Friday, the National Commission for Women in a letter to issued to the media said that having come across the news in media reports, they were setting up an inquiry team and would visit the girls at the institute hostel to speak and inquire about the incident.
The NCW said that it had also appraised the Kutch University in-charge Vice Chancellor Darshna Dholakia and the DGP of Gujurat, Shivanand Jha (IPS) to look into the matter.
"National Commission for Women has written to the Sahjanand Girls' Institute College Trustee, Pravin Pindora and the Principal, Rita Raniga to give explanation of this shameful exercise taking place in their Institute," the letter added.
The Gujarat State Women Commission (GSWC) has also ordered the state police to carry out a probe regarding the alleged sexual harassment of students.
The students too are demanding legal action. One of the students told ANI that the the principal of the institute had "emotionally blackmailed" them and forced them to withdraw the complaint.
"He also told us to give in writing that everything is fine now. We want legal action and not just the apology from the administration," she said.
"We do respect our institution, but what they did was not right. A legal action should be taken against them. We decided to call the media to throw light on the matter," she told ANI.
The SSGI Dean Darshana Dholakia however said that "everything happened with the girls' permission and nobody was forced."
"No one touched them," she added.
She also said that an inquiry team has been formed to look into the matter.
"The matter is related to the hostel and it has nothing to do with the university or college. An inquiry team has been constituted to look into the matter," she said.
(With inputs from agencies)
