Over 60 girls studying in a college in Gujarat’s Bhuj were allegedly forced by hostel officials to remove their undergarments to check if they were menstruating.

The alleged incident took place on February 11 at the Shree Sahajanand Girls Institute (SSGI), run by a trust of the Swaminarayan Temple, an official said.

“The hostel has a rule that girls having periods are not supposed to take meals with other inmates. However, some menstruating girls broke this rule. When the matter reached the authorities, some of the girls voluntarily allowed a women employee to check them,” claimed Darshana Dholakia, who holds the charge of vice-chancellor at the Krantiguru Shyamji Krishna Verma Kutch University, to which the SSGI is affiliated.

Dholakia has formed a committee to probe the incident.

But a girl student said more than 60 students were taken to the washroom by a woman employee and made to remove their undergarments.

“We were tortured by hostel authorities in this manner at the behest of college principal Rita Raninga. We want strict action against her and other staff members involved in the incident,” she said.

SSGI offers graduate and undergraduate courses.

Kutch west superintendent of police Saurabh Tolumbia said: “We have sent a police team under a woman inspector to talk to the victims and are in the process of filing an FIR. Although the girls are not ready to come forward, we are confident that one girl will come forward to lodge an FIR.”

The Gujarat State Commission for Women has taken cognisance of the alleged incident on its own and sought a detailed report from Bhuj police, said chairperson Leela Ankoliya.