New Delhi, Jun 23: As many as 813 of the 1,563 candidates who were earlier awarded grace marks in NEET-UG appeared for a retest on Sunday, officials said.

The retest was conducted at seven centres following an order from the Supreme Court. The grace marks were awarded to make up for the loss of time at six centres where the examination started late on May 5.

"At least 52 per cent -- 813 out of 1,563 candidates -- appeared for the retest on Sunday," a senior National Testing Agency (NTA) official said.

Amid a raging row over alleged irregularities in the medical entrance exam, the NTA on Sunday debarred 17 candidates who had appeared for the exam on May 5 at centres in Bihar.

The agency had earlier debarred 63 candidates for adopting unfair means in the exam. On Saturday, 30 additional candidates from Gujarat's Godhara were also debarred.

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Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.

The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.

Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.

The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.

Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.

The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.