NAGPUR: An emotional scene unfolded outside the NEET retest centre at Ajni’s Kendriya Vidyalaya on Sunday as Abdullah Mohammad Talib arrived to appear for the examination, a day after controversy erupted over his admit card showing an examination centre in Abu Dhabi instead of one of his preferred centres in Vidarbha.Moments after Abdullah cleared the security check and entered the examination hall, his father, Dr Talib, broke down while speaking to TOI. He said the examination was crucial for his son’s future and that the family had endured days of anxiety and uncertainty following the centre-allotment issue.The 18-year-old, wearing a mask to avoid media attention, was initially reluctant to appear for the examination and agreed only on Sunday morning, around 10am, after repeated persuasion from family members.“The admit card issue caused severe emotional distress. He was inconsolable when he saw Abu Dhabi listed as his examination centre and had to be given medication to calm him down,” Dr Talib said.He added that the entire family rallied around Abdullah during the ordeal. “Even his mother fell ill after seeing him shattered by the incident. His elder brother in Ireland and sister in Mumbai made repeated video calls to convince him not to give up on the examination.”Dr Talib said Abdullah hopes to pursue an MBBS degree and later move to the United Kingdom for postgraduate medical studies.“After the exam, we plan to take him on a holiday so that he can recover from the stress. We hope he regains his confidence and moves forward with renewed hope,” he said.Responding to the National Testing Agency‘s claim that Abu Dhabi had been selected in the candidate’s profile, Dr Talib alleged that there may have been unauthorised access to the account.“Abdullah and I filled out the application form together at home in February. When the portal was reopened for selecting preferred examination cities, we chose Nagpur, Bhandara and Wardha in that order. However, from June 14 onwards, we were unable to access the account as the system repeatedly showed ‘wrong credentials’. When we finally managed to log in two days ago, the admit card displayed Abu Dhabi as the examination centre,” he said.He urged authorities to investigate the possibility of hacking or unauthorised changes to the profile. “My son does not even have a passport, nor do we have any relatives in Abu Dhabi,” Dr Talib said.According to the family, Abdullah’s morale had already been affected by the NEET paper leak controversy last month. While he had prepared himself for the retest, the admit card issue dealt a fresh blow to his confidence, they said.
