Caste bias row: Rohit Pawar seeks removal of Pune college principal from govt panel
Mumbai (PTI): NCP (SP) general secretary Rohit Pawar has demanded that the Maharashtra government remove a Pune college principal from its youth and sports policy committee, following allegations of caste bias by a former Dalit student.
The former BBA student alleged caste bias and claimed the Modern College of Arts, Science and Commerce had withheld his job verification, a charge denied by the institution which clarified that it had sent the document to his UK-based employer and he had not lost his job.
The college has refuted the allegations of caste discrimination, calling them baseless.
Pawar has, however, accused the college of showing "Manuvadi" ideology and demanded the removal of its principal Nivedita Ekbote from the state government's core committee to frame policies for youth and sports.
"If there are individuals with Manuvadi ideologies as well as those harbouring casteist grudges in the committee that formulates the state's sports and youth policy, then what will be the future of the state's youth?" he said in a post on his social media handle on Monday.
"This committee should include people who work towards how to get jobs abroad, and should not include individuals who cause the youth to lose job opportunities abroad due to casteist grudges," Pawar added.
He demanded that the government immediately remove the "controversial members" from the committee and restructure it.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
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.
