RCC classes sealed in Pune over violations; owner already in CBI custody in NEET paper leak case

The Pune Municipal Corporation on Wednesday sealed the premises housing Renukai Career Centre RCC, whose owner has been arrested in the NEET-UG paper leak case, here for allegedly operating without an occupancy certificate, officials said.The classes were being run from the Borawake building located on Jungli Maharaj Road in the citys Deccan Gymkhana area.RCC owner Shivraj Raghunath Motegaonkar was arrested on May 17 after the Central Bureau of Investigation CBI recovered a leaked question paper of the examination held on May 3 from his mobile phone during searches at his premises in Latur, the officials had said.

The Pune Municipal Corporation on Wednesday sealed the premises housing Renukai Career Centre (RCC), whose owner has been arrested in the NEET-UG paper leak case, here for allegedly operating without an occupancy certificate, officials said.

The classes were being run from the Borawake building located on Jungli Maharaj Road in the city's Deccan Gymkhana area.

RCC owner Shivraj Raghunath Motegaonkar was arrested on May 17 after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) recovered a leaked question paper of the examination held on May 3 from his mobile phone during searches at his premises in Latur, the officials had said. His coaching centre has nine branches.

Earlier, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) had filed a complaint with the Pune civic body, alleging that the building where RCC classes were conducted did not have an occupancy certificate.

A senior Pune civic official said the corporation had not yet issued an occupancy certificate for this building. The fire department had also not granted its No Objection Certificate. Despite this, the premises were being used to run classes illegally, the official said.

The corporation's building department had issued a notice to the property owner, instructing them to shut down the classes. ''However, disregarding the municipal corporation's notice, the classes continued to operate. Finally, today, the premises were sealed,'' the official said.

According to investigators, Motegaonkar was allegedly an ''active member of the organised gang'' involved in the leakage and circulation of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET)- Undergraduate (UG) paper.

The exam, conducted across 551 Indian cities and at 14 overseas centres on May 3, was cancelled after information regarding alleged malpractice was received on the evening of May 7. Nearly 23 lakh candidates had registered for the test. A retest is scheduled for June 21.