The invigilator objected to the teen's shorts (Representational)
A 19-year-old student in Assam who wore shorts to an examination was forced to wrap a curtain around her legs to cover up before sitting for the exam. Outrage over the incident has spurred an inquiry by the Assam Agricultural University.
There is no formal complaint by the teen's family.
The student had travelled to Tezpur from her hometown Biswanath Chariali on Wednesday to take the entrance exam for the Girijananda Chowdhury Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (GIPS).
No one stopped her until she reached the exam hall, where the invigilator objected to her shorts.
The teen checked with the university authorities and told the invigilator that the admit card mentioned no dress code. She also told them she had appeared for the national medical entrance test NEET in shorts recently.
The invigilator did not budge, the teen's family alleges.
She ran to her father, who was waiting outside the centre, and begged him to get a pair of trousers from the nearest market.
Babul Tamuli said he made a dash for it, but before he could return with the trousers from the market, the college officials had given his daughter a curtain to cover her legs.
"My daughter was traumatised and spoke to a few local journalists about the humiliating incident and the issue became viral on social media. There are many who have condemned the incident but many have attacked my daughter for not following a dress code in an educational institution, which has left her more mentally disturbed," Mr Tamuli was quoted as saying by PTI.
"We have decided not to proceed further and let the matter rest here in the interest of my daughter's mental well-being. We want her to concentrate on her academic future," he added, sharing that friends and relatives had urged the family to register a complaint.
Though the family has not complained, anger on social media forced the Assam Agricultural University to and set up an inquiry led by the dean.
Congress spokesperson Bobbeeta Sharma said not allowing a young girl to sit for an examination for wearing shorts reflected a dangerous and regressive mindset.
"This is making a mountain out of a molehill and amounts to mental harassment of the student just before her exams. I feel sorry that society has become so regressive about what a girl wears. Such a mindset is dangerous for the safety and security of girls," said Ms Sarma.
Gender rights activist Anurita Hazarika told PTI: "Would a boy be dealt with in the same manner if he had entered the examination hall wearing shorts or was the girl singled out for her gender?" She said the incident amounted to sexual harassment if a male invigilator forcibly wrapped the cloth around her legs.
"People should give up this 'Taliban-like attitude'," said Jayanta Sarma, a professor of mass communication at KK Handique State Open University.