Minor boy killed, 3 others injured in fire at chawl in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): A 15-year-old boy was killed and three other persons were injured after a fire broke out at a chawl in Cuffe Parade of south Mumbai early on Monday, officials said.
The incident was reported around 4.15 am at the single-storey chawl (row tenement) in Shivshakti Nagar on Captain Prakash Pethe Marg, they said.
Four persons were injured in the blaze and rushed to St George's Hospital, where Yash Vitthal Khot (15) was declared dead, a civic official said.
The other injured persons -- Devendra Choudhary (30), Viraj Khot (13), and Sangram Kurne (25) -- were undergoing treatment, he said.
While Choudhary was admitted to the ICU, the condition of the two others was reported to be stable, the official said.
The fire was confined to electric wiring, installations, three electric vehicle batteries and household articles in an area measuring about 10x10 feet on the first floor of the chawl, as per officials.
A fire engine was rushed to the spot and the blaze was doused by 4.35 am, a fire official said.
The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, the official said.
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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.
