Rains bring down trees, power lines, waterlogging in many parts of Kerala
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Overnight heavy rains and strong winds brought down trees and power lines, damaging houses, vehicles and causing power and traffic disruptions in parts of Kerala.
The continuous rains also caused waterlogging in low-lying areas in many parts of the state and rise in water levels of various rivers.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Friday issued an orange alert in eight districts of the state for three hours from 7 am.
It also predicted the likelihood of thunderstorms with moderate to intense spell of rainfall and maximum surface wind speeds reaching 50 kmph in gusts during the day in isolated places in the state.
An 'orange alert' denotes "very heavy" rainfall of 11 to 20 cm.
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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.
