Police said there is no official communication on the part of anyone in the matter. (Representational)

A woman taking the West Bengal Integrated Child Development Society (ICDS) examination on Sunday was allegedly forced to breastfeed her baby in the open outside the exam centre due to lack of facilities for the same inside the building.

The incident took place at a school building in South 24 Parganas district's Baruipur.

The 21-year-old woman's husband told reporters that the baby started crying just before the start of the examination and she was told by the guards that there was no arrangement for breastfeeding at the examination centre, as all other rooms of the building were locked on a holiday.

Finding no other alternative, he took her to a lane adjacent to the examination centre and the baby was fed, he said.

The man's claim was corroborated by local residents who helped the couple.

The woman then returned to the examination centre and wrote the papers for West Bengal ICDS Female Supervisor Recruitment 2019, her husband said.

The exam centre authorities, however, said all help was extended to the woman in the situation and she was guided to an area within the compound of the school building.

An official in local police station said, "We have heard the incident. But there is no official communication on the part of anyone about it."