Paper Leak: NTA debars Latur coaching centre owner’s son from NEET-UG for two years

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The National Testing Agency (NTA) has debarred the son of a Latur-based coaching centre owner and paper leak case accused Shivraj Motegaonkar from appearing for the NEET-UG examination for two years.

Motegaonkar, arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in this year's NEET-UG paper leak case, is currently in judicial custody.

His son Aditya Motegaonkar's result for the exam conducted earlier this year has been withheld, and he has also been declared ineligible to appear for the NEET-UG 2027, as per the NTA communication on September 19.

According to the CBI, Shivraj Motegaonkar allegedly paid ₹5 lakh to procure chemistry questions from P.V. Kulkarni, who was on the NTA panel that set the questions for the examination.

His son attended Kulkarni’s coaching classes where the questions were provided, the agency alleged.

After conducting the NEET-UG retest on June 21, the NTA put Aditya Motegaonkar's result on hold and sought his explanation over the alleged irregularities.

In his response, he denied having adopted any unfair means during the examination. He also contended that the notice issued to him related to the alleged irregularities in the May 3 examination and questioned why his result in the subsequent retest had been withheld.

The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate), or NEET-UG, is conducted by the NTA for medical aspirants.

On May 12, the NTA cancelled the NEET-UG held on May 3 for admissions in medical courses following allegations of paper leak. A re-examination was conducted on June 21.

The CBI last month submitted its final report before the designated fast-track court in Delhi dealing with “criminal cases arising from paper leaks as well as the use of other unfair means in public examinations”.

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