Bihar village cries for justice as young cleric killed in Gurugram attack
Sitamarhi (Bihar) (PTI): Following the death of a young naib imam of a Gurugram mosque in a mob attack, his village in Bihar has sought justice.
Cries for 'justice' rent the air at Maniyadih, a village in north Bihar's Sitamarhi district, to which 19-year-old Haafiz Saad belonged.
"Saad babu was scheduled to return by a train along with his elder brother Shadab. Shadab had called us to complain that his brother was not ready to leave the mosque until tomorrow morning," the slain naib imam's maternal uncle Ibrahim Akhtar told PTI-Bhasha over the phone.
"The main imam of the masjid had gone out of station, and Saad felt duty-bound not to leave the premises until his superior, who was scheduled to return on Thursday, was back," said the bereaved uncle.
The elder brother, who stays elsewhere in Gurugram and gives tuition for a living, was of the view that they leave for a "safer" place, mindful of the communal violence there. However, for the younger sibling, the call for duty was too compelling.
Saad's father Mushtaq smells a "conspiracy" against his son, unable to come to terms with reports that the mild-mannered youngster was attacked with swords before being shot dead.
"What was my son's fault? Why did the mob attack the naib imam and not others who were present inside the mosque? I want justice. I want nothing else from the government," said the crestfallen father.
"We were planning to visit Muzaffarpur tomorrow to receive Saad and his brother at the station and bring them home. Now, here we are, awaiting the ambulance which would bring his body," wailed the bereaved father.
The elder brother, who was to accompany Saad on the train journey, was now travelling by the hearse carrying the mortal remains.
Sitamarhi Superintendent of Police Manoj Tiwari said, "The village falls under Nanpur police station. I am instructing the SHO to extend all help that the bereaved family may need during the funeral".
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NEET student hangs self in Rajasthan's Sikar
Jaipur (PTI): A student preparing for the NEET examination allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in a rented room in Rajasthan's Sikar on Friday, police said.
According to the police, the student allegedly hanged himself from a ceiling fan using his sister's scarf while one sister was attending coaching classes and the other was in the bathroom.
He had appeared in the NEET UG exam 2026, which was cancelled due to paper leak, they said.
Udyog Nagar SHO Rajesh Kumar said that the deceased, identified as Pradeep Meghwal, was a resident of Kanika ki Dhani village in Jhunjhunu's Gudha Gaudji area.
He had been living in a rented room in Sikar's Jaldhari Nagar area with his two sisters while preparing for NEET over the last three years.
His elder sister later found him hanging and informed the landlord and police after bringing him down, officials said.
The SHO said the body was kept at SK Hospital mortuary, and a postmortem had not been conducted.
The student's father, Rajesh Kumar Meghwal, told police that Pradeep's NEET examination had gone well and the family was expecting him to score around 650 marks.
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot expressed grief over the incident and linked it to anxiety among students after reports of irregularities and paper leaks in NEET 2026.
Pilot said repeated paper leak incidents and cancellation of examinations were affecting students' mental health and demanded a time-bound investigation and strict action against those responsible.
