Security stepped up at 92 NEET re-exam centres in Kota; candidate count falls

Kota, Authorities have finalised elaborate security and administrative arrangements at 92 centres across Kota for the NEET UG re-examination to be held on June 21, officials said on Saturday.

A total of 32,715 candidates have been issued admit cards for the examination, scheduled from 2 to 5.15 pm, a press release from the Kota public relations office said.

The number of candidates in Kota has declined from 38,614 in the exam previously held on May 3. Experts attributed the drop partly to students opting for examination centres closer to their hometowns this time.


The re-examination is taking place nearly seven weeks after the original test was cancelled following allegations of a paper leak that triggered nationwide outrage, political sparring and legal challenges.

A coordination workshop was held here at the auditorium on Friday to review preparations for the national-level medical entrance examination.

Divisional Commissioner Anil Kumar Agarwal, Kota Range Inspector General Harendra Mahawar, District Collector Piyush Samaria and Kota City Superintendent of Police Tejaswini Gautam directed officials to ensure that all arrangements are made in accordance with the guidelines of the National Testing Agency (NTA).

The officers instructed authorities to ensure secure storage and transportation of question papers and other confidential examination materials. They also emphasised strict implementation of biometric verification, frisking of candidates, robust security at examination centres and continuous surveillance.

Candidates will be allowed entry at the examination centres only till 1.30 pm. Every centre will have a designated police team leader to supervise security arrangements, officials said.

CCTV surveillance, signal jammers and frisking facilities will be in place at all centres. The NTA has appointed six city coordinators for the Kota district to oversee arrangements at the allotted examination centres, the release said.

Authorities also directed deployment of adequate police personnel at all centres, appointment and training of duty magistrates and maintenance of law and order around examination venues.

Separately, Kota city police held a joint meeting with police officers and representatives of coaching institutes to strengthen coordination ahead of the examination.

The police directed coaching institutes to educate students about cyber fraud, fake paper leak claims and misleading social media campaigns related to the examination while ensuring strict adherence to NTA guidelines.

The institutes have also been directed to immediately report any information regarding attempts to leak question papers through designated helpline numbers and ensure that none of their staff members is involved in spreading rumours or participating in any paper leak activities.

The workshop was attended by NTA-appointed observers, sector magistrates, duty magistrates, city coordinators, flying squad members, centre superintendents and police team leaders, reflecting the administration's coordinated efforts to ensure smooth and transparent conduct of the examination.