Bengal NEET topper chooses engineering over medicine, to start IIT-Kharagpur classes
Times of India | 18 July 2026
Kolkata: Sabyasachi Laskar, the Bengal topper in NEET (UG), the national entrance test to medical colleges, has decided to forgo a career in medicine and instead, study computer science engineering. Sabyasachi, who said his ultimate goal was hardware research to reduce global energy consumption, has already secured admission to IIT-Kharagpur, where his classes will begin on July 28.
“I want to work towards reducing global energy consumption for sustainability. To chase this dream, I want to pursue advanced research in hardware so that I can develop technologies that minimise energy consumed by computers. I have been environmentally conscious since childhood and want to contribute something meaningful to humankind,” he said.
Sabyasachi won his seat at the IIT even before appearing for the NEET (UG) re-test and his rank in the medical entrance test—top rank from Bengal and 35th in all India—could not persuade him to change his career choice. “I am absolutely certain about pursuing computer science engineering at IIT-Kharagpur over medicine. I have received the seat acceptance letter and will join soon,” he said on Friday, after receiving his NEET results.
The NEET paper leak, the consequent cancellation of the first test and then the retest was an ordeal but Sabyasachi ostensibly used the gap between the first and the second NEET round for a focused study. He said, “I expected a good result as the exam went off well, but securing the 35th rank nationwide was beyond my expectations. I had prepared well for both the tests but performed in the retest better than in the first exam.”
He was among the few students from Bengal who appeared for both the medical and engineering entrance exams. Sabyasachi said that even as he maintained a focus on biology, he worked hard on physics and chemistry to prepare for JEE-Main and Advanced.
His mother, Chameli Sardar, said her son was initially upset when the first NEET was called off but he did not get distracted. “My son has always been incredibly focused. Though his goal is to be an engineer, biology is his favorite subject and so, he appeared for NEET. Once he cracked the JEE-Advanced, there was no second thought about his career choice. But even after he got admission to IIT, he took the NEET retest with unwavering sincerity, and thus, his high rank,” she said.
A student of BDM International School, Sabyasachi secured a perfect score in his class X boards in 2024 and maintained excellent marks in class 12, too.
The NEET retest put considerable pressure on candidates, and the delay in results forced many aspirants to keep other academic options open. Sampurna Ghosh, who secured an all-India NEET rank of 981, said, “It was incredibly stressful when we found out about the NEET paper leak, but my coaching institute helped me regain confidence. Preparing for NEET twice in such a short time threw my sleep schedule out of gear as it demanded gruelling study hours. But that hard work has paid off.” Aritra Chakraborty, who ranked 284th across India, said, “The hardest part was dealing with the uncertainty. I can now finally plan my next steps.”