GUWAHATI: Gujarat college girls were allegedly forced to strip by the administration to check if they were menstruating.
The action was taken to uphold the college rule that bars students from the hostel when they are on their periods, news agency AFP reported.
The National Commission for Women will send a probe team to the college. Shree Sahajanand Girls Institute is situated in Gujarat's Bhuj district.
The college is run by the Swaminarayan sect, which manages lavish temples around the world.
Reports suggest that the college authorities made 68 students stand in line in the washroom and ordered them to undress.
The step was taken after a sanitary pad was found in the college compound.
"We do respect our institution, but what they did was not right. Legal action should be taken against them. We decided to call the media to throw light on the matter," one of the students was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
"The principal and a few others have called us and tried to emotionally blackmail us. 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.
According to the hostel rules, menstruating women students must stay in an isolated basement area and keep away from the kitchen and the place of worship.