NEET row-hit Latur tops Maharashtra MBBS seat-allotment list, 1,061 candidates feature in first

Caught in the midst of the NEET paper-leak scandal, Maharashtra's Latur district has turned its fortunes around, topping the list of MBBS seat allotments in the state's first round of admissions. A staggering 1061 candidates from Latur made it to the list, out of a total of 8065 seats. Following Latur, Pune saw 869 seats, Nanded with 803, and Mumbai City with 770 slots.

The overall seat-allotment data was compiled by Sachin Bangad, a medical education counsellor from Latur, who felt that the NEET controversies had overshadowed the town's historical significance as a hotspot for medical aspirants. Latur gained national attention after the NEET-UG 2026 paper-leak controversy, with a prominent coaching institution's founder being implicated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the network responsible for the leak.

In 2024, Latur faced scrutiny over alleged irregularities involving score manipulation. On August 30, the Maharashtra CET Cell announced the seat allotment for the first round of the Centralised Admission Process (CAP). Out of the 8129 MBBS seats in Maharashtra, 8065 were distributed, with Latur leading the pack. While the Maharashtra Common Entrance Test (CET) Cell does not provide location-wise data, Bangad and his team created a system based on NEET roll numbers, each with a unique code for the city or town the candidate appeared from.

By checking the merit list declared by the CET Cell, the team identified the number of candidates with Latur's code (3109) in their NEET roll-numbers. Latur's reputation as a hub for medical aspirants, particularly for those from rural areas, has been bolstered by the availability of affordable coaching options. Satish Pawar, a teacher at Vidya Aradhna Coaching Class in Latur, dismissed the controversy surrounding the industry, stating that the data reaffirms students' and parents' confidence in the Latur pattern.