Latur’s alleged links to the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case and the subsequent Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe have prompted the district administration to launch a crackdown on illegal coaching classes and related infrastructure, officials said.
The CBI has so far arrested 11 accused in the case, including retired professor PV Kulkarni and Renukai Career Centre director Shivraj Motegaonkar.
Authorities have now stepped up action in the city’s controversial coaching hub, with officials targeting unauthorised commercial activities operating from industrial units.
On Friday, the Zilla Udyog Kendra (District Industries Centre) directed the immediate closure of commercial establishments functioning illegally in industrial sheds allotted for manufacturing purposes within the Latur Industrial Estate Co-operative Society.
The action comes days after the CBI arrested Pune-based Manisha Havaldar for allegedly leaking Physics questions from the NEET examination.
According to the official letter issued by the District Industries Centre on May 22, the action was initiated following a meeting chaired by the Latur District Collector.
The administration observed that several industrial units in the MIDC area were being misused for private coaching classes, hostels, mess facilities, hotels, study rooms, book centres and other commercial activities instead of industrial production.
The industrial plots and sheds were originally leased to entrepreneurs strictly for manufacturing and industrial purposes.
However, after the decline of several industries post-2000, many units were reportedly rented out to the booming private coaching sector, transforming the locality into Latur's well-known 'tuition area', the letter stated.
In its notice to the president of Latur Industrial Estate Co-operative Society, the DIC has warned that strict legal action will follow if the orders are not implemented immediately.
(With inputs from PTI)