In Madhya Pradesh, Candidates Marked "SC/ST" During Medical Exam For Police Recruitment

Dhar, Madhya Pradesh: Candidates appearing for the post of police constable in Madhya Pradesh had their castes stamped on their chests during the physical examination on Saturday. When the 206 candidates queued up for the medical test at the district hospital in Dhar, they were segregated on the basis of their castes "to avoid confusion".

The minimum height for general category candidates is 168 cms, and 165 cms for reserved categories. But there seems to be no clarity on whose idea was it to scribble SC/ST on their bodies and who executed it. None of the candidates objected to it or filed a complaint.

The incident has raised a furore in the state prompting Madhya Pradesh home minister Bhupendra Singh to order an investigation. Chief Medical and Health Officer Dr RC Panika has also promised a thorough probe.

"The incident where candidates' chests were labelled with their castes is indeed deplorable. We have taken the matter seriously as this is wrong and should not happen. We are awaiting the inquiry report," Dhar Superintendent of Police Virendra Singh said.
 The Congress attacked the ruling party and said the government was against the minorities. Manak Agarwal, Congress spokesperson, said, "It is a serious issue. It seems that the Madhya Pradesh government is against SC/ST people and they don't like Dalits and minorities. I want the chief minister to apologise to them."

Union Minister Ramdas Athawale also condemned the incident and said it is an insult to SC/ ST people. "I'll write to the chief minister to demand action against those responsible."

State BJP spokesperson Rahul Kothari, however, tried to justify the exercise and said it was done with the consent of the applicants. "In the physical exam of any police force, ST/SC applicants are given relaxation in their height and chest measurements; therefore, the administration wrote ST/SC on their chests to differentiate between them and general category applicants," Mr Kothari said.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who was in Ujjain for a conference yesterday, is yet to react.

A total of 206 male and female candidates are to be selected to fill the posts.