3 min readBhubaneswarJun 9, 2026 11:26 AM IST
First published on: Jun 5, 2026 at 07:33 PM IST
When identical twins Mahroof Ahmed Khan and Masroor Ahmed Khan left Bhubaneswar for Kota around three years ago to prepare for the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE), they both had a shared dream — earning a seat at IIT Bombay.
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At Kota, they studied across the same table, shared the same study materials, cleared doubts together, and became each other’s biggest support system. They even achieved an identical 99.98 percentile in JEE Main Session-1, and worked towards excelling in JEE Advanced. They both eyed studying Computer Science Engineering (CSE) at IIT Bombay.
Their hard work paid off as both secured impressive ranks in JEE Advanced. While Mahroof secured an all-India rank of 32, Masroor got rank 169.
However, while Mahroof’s rank would get him admission to the CSE course at IIT Bombay, he decided to forgo the seat to stay together with his twin brother, Masroor, whose rank may fall short of the cut-off for the highly sought-after course.
The twins decided to get into IIT Madras.
“They were each other’s support and friend even before they started going to school. They studied together all through their life and when they cracked JEE Advanced, they decided to study together in the same institute. As parents, we are the happiest with their decision. We have no objection,” Zeenat Begum, the twins’ mother, told The Indian Express over the phone.
Zeenat, a gynaecologist who left her job at a state government PSU to support her sons’ dreams and live with them at Kota to manage their daily routine, said she always encouraged the twins to study well and to secure a good rank so that they could get admission to an IIT. On Friday, the mother returned to Bhubaneswar with her twin sons.
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“Though it was also our dream that they secure admission in IIT Bombay, they chose to stay together. I am sure their rank will help them to secure admission in Computer Science Engineering in any IIT Madras, Delhi or Kanpur, which are among the best IITs in the country,” she said.
Since childhood, Mahroof and Masroor would study and play together. Their mother said she had never faced any difficulties as they were disciplined and studious.
With her sons now set to take admission in an IIT, Zeenat is considering resuming her practice. “As a mother, I always wanted to give the best to my sons. Since they thought that Kota had the best coaching ecosystem, I decided to quit my job and move with them. I will resume my job once my sons get settled,” she said, adding that every parent should support their kids to follow their dreams.
Their father, Mansoor Ahmed Khan, serves as a senior medical officer at the Sanjeevan Health Centre at IIT Bhubaneswar.
While Mahroof secured an all-India rank of 32, Masroor got rank 169. (Express photo) 
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