Parents applaud as NEET retest ends amid leak controversy in Latur

Outside Rajarshi Shahu College, hundreds of parents waited in tense silence until the first NEET candidates began to emerge, then broke into applause. The relief was real, but so was the damage behind it: for families in Latur, the re-test was not just another exam day, it was an attempt to restore faith in a system that had already been shaken by allegations of a paper leak.

That faith had been under pressure since NEET-UG 2024 was held on May 5 for 22.05 lakh candidates and later cancelled in full, the first time the National Testing Agency had wiped out the exam entirely. The Union government told the Supreme Court of India that scorecards for 1,563 candidates who had received compensatory marks would be cancelled and that they would be offered a re-test on June 23. For parents outside the exam centre, the case was less about procedure than fairness: leaked questions could distort scores, push medical college cut-offs higher and leave honest students locked out.

Latur’s role in the scandal cut especially deep because the city had built a reputation as a coaching hub, known for affordable, effective preparation for medical entrance exams. That image was damaged when the Central Bureau of Investigation searched Renukai Chemistry Classes on May 17 and arrested Shivraj Raghunath Motegaonkar, also identified as Shivraj Motegaonkar and Shivaraj Motegaonkar, the founder and owner of the institute. Investigators examined WhatsApp chats, call records and financial transactions, and the agency later said Motegaonkar was an active member of the network responsible for leaking and circulating the question papers. Arrests spread across Delhi, Jaipur, Gurugram, Nashik, Pune, Latur and Ahilyanagar.

The students who took the re-test described an exam that felt different from the first attempt. Insha Inamdar said the paper was slightly harder, especially Physics, but she was relieved to have enough time to finish. Vedika Pokharkar, who moved from Pune to study in Latur, said a re-NEET was essential because otherwise scores would have been inflated and unfair to students without access to leaked questions. Shrikant Akuskar from Beed district said this had effectively become his third attempt and hoped it would be his last.

The controversy has now moved beyond one exam centre. Renukai Chemistry Classes, also known as RCC Coaching Institute, is among Maharashtra’s biggest coaching brands for NEET, JEE and CET preparation, and the scandal has pushed the Maharashtra government toward a bill to regulate coaching classes. District authorities have also ordered coaching institutes and student facilities operating on industrial land in Latur to shut down or face legal action. For a city built on admissions success, the retest was a brief release, but the larger verdict still hangs over the credibility of the system itself.