Bhubaneswar (PTI): The class 12 final examinations of the Odisha board began on Wednesday amid heavy security, officials said.

A total of 4.01 lakh students are appearing for the exams being conducted by the Council of Higher Secondary Education (CHSE), Odisha, across 1,364 centres, they said.

The exams began with Science papers, while those for the Arts and Commerce streams will start on Friday. The exam will continue till March 28, they added.

A total of 2.56 lakh students are enrolled in the Arts stream, 1.14 lakh in Science, and 24,621 in Commerce, CHSE's Controller of Examinations Prasanta Kumar Parida said.

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There are also 5,932 students of vocational studies, he said.

The exam began at 10 am and will end at 1 pm, he added

Parida said live streaming of all examination centres has been made available, while 211 question paper hubs are being monitored with "AI technology".

Special squads have been deployed to conduct surprise inspections to check any malpractices, he added.

Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi extended greetings to all the students appearing for the examination.

"The examination is a beautiful reflection of your knowledge and hard work. There is no need to put any fear or stress in your mind for it. Remember, your performance will be of high quality only if you appear for the examination not under pressure, but with patience," he posted on X.

The practical examinations were conducted between January 2 and 15.

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Nashik (PTI): Nine members of a family, including six children, were killed after their car fell into a well in Maharashtra's Nashik district, police said on Saturday.

The accident occurred in the Shivaji Nagar area of Dindori town around 10 pm on Friday, an official said.

The victims were heading home after attending a function at a banquet hall in the area when their car fell into a well near the venue, he said.

Personnel from the local police and emergency services arrived at the scene and retrieved the car and its occupants with the help of two cranes and swimmers around midnight.

The victims were members of the Dargude family from Indore village in Dindori taluka, the official said.

According to the police, the deceased were identified as Sunil Dattu Dargude (32), his wife Reshma, Asha Anil Dargude (32), and six children from the family, five girls in the age group of seven to 14 years and an 11-year-old boy.

Their bodies were brought to the government hospital in Dindori, the official said, adding that a case has been registered and a probe is underway to ascertain the cause of the accident.