A NEET-UG aspirant from Nagpur, Maharashtra, was left in absolute shock after he was allegedly allocated an exam centre in Abu Dhabi for the re-exam scheduled for June 21. The candidate's father claimed that the family was stunned upon downloading the admit card, as they had never selected an international location.
“Family of a NEET aspirant, Abdullah Mohammad Talib, claims that he was allocated a school in Abu Dhabi as his exam center for NEET-UG re-exam scheduled to be held on 21st June,” ANI tweeted.
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The news agency added a quote from the aspirant’s father, Mohammad Talib. He said, “After the admit card was downloaded at 4 pm yesterday, we found the Centre mentioned to be a school in Abu Dhabi. We were really shocked as we had not given anything as such in our options.”
What happened next?
The father explained, “We dialled up the helpline number. They told us to send them a mail. When we sent a mail, we received a call that we will be issued a fresh admit card by 4 pm on Saturday. We had given 3 districts as options but we now demand that Nagpur be given us as the Centre because he is shocked. There is no time to go to any other district. He cried a lot yesterday and did not even want to write the exam.”
{{/usCountry}}The father explained, “We dialled up the helpline number. They told us to send them a mail. When we sent a mail, we received a call that we will be issued a fresh admit card by 4 pm on Saturday. We had given 3 districts as options but we now demand that Nagpur be given us as the Centre because he is shocked. There is no time to go to any other district. He cried a lot yesterday and did not even want to write the exam.”
{{/usCountry}}He continued, “But his mother tried to convince him. If he is convinced, he will appear for the exam. He does not even have a passport.”
What did NTA say?
The NTA (National Testing Agency) reacted to the claims. The agency tweeted, “The grievance is being addressed and the candidate will be allocated a centre in Nagpur, after due verification, in the next few hours.”
An image of an admit card shared by ANI shows the address of the exam centre as “SALAMA BINT BUTTI STREET: 23 RD MUROOR ROAD; ABU DHABI, UAE: PIN - 46492-46492-46492.”
The NEET-UG re-examination was ordered by the NTA due to a major question paper leak and widespread irregularities discovered after the original exam.
Also Read: NTA to conduct drill to check NEET retest preparedness
Shortly after the initial exam on May 3, investigations revealed that a question paper was widely leaked and circulated via platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram to coaching centres. The scale of the fraud prompted action by the Rajasthan Police Special Operations Group and, later, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), leading to multiple arrests across states.
On May 12, the NTA officially cancelled the May 3 exam, stating the decision was made "in the interest of students".