Seven students dead, 28 injured as portion of school building collapses in Rajasthan
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Jhalawar (PTI): A portion of a government school in Rajasthan’s Jhalawar district collapsed on Friday just as the students were assembling for morning prayers, killing seven children and leaving 28 injured, some of them critically.
The part of the Piplod Government School building housing Classes 6 and 7 gave way, burying about 35 children, police said.
Slabs of concrete, bricks and stones were piled up high and scores of people, including frantic parents and teachers, helped in the rescue effort, searching through the mounds of debris to pull out the children.
Police officials said they were informed of the tragedy around 7:45 am.
Five of the children studying in the school in Jhalawar’s Manoharthana block, about 340 km from Jaipur, have been identified.
They are Kundar, Kanha, Raidas, Anuradha and Badal Bhil, said Station House Officer, Manoharthana, Nand Kishore.
The injured were taken to the Jhalawar hospital and the Manoharthana health centre.
President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were among those who condoled the loss of lives.
"The news of the collapse of a school roof in Jhalawar, Rajasthan, resulting in the death and injury of several students, is extremely tragic. I pray that God grants strength to the grieving families to bear this pain.
"I wish for the speedy recovery of the students injured in this accident," Murmu said in a post on X in Hindi.
The prime minister described the incident as tragic and deeply saddening. “My thoughts are with the affected students and their families in this difficult hour. Praying for the speedy recovery of the injured. Authorities are providing all possible assistance to those affected," he said.
Angry locals said they had informed the tehsildar and sub-divisional magistrate about the condition of the school building but no action was taken. "This happened due to negligence of the administration," Balkishan, a local resident, told reporters.
Another local claimed that they had rescued the children and rushed them to the health centre in private vehicles before help from the administration arrived.
According to Jhalawar collector Ajay Singh, however, the district administration had recently instructed the education department to give information about any dilapidated school building but this one did not figure in the list. “I will get it investigated and action will be taken against whoever is found guilty," Singh told PTI.
Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma said in his condolence message that concerned officials had been directed to ensure proper treatment of the injured children.
"May God grant a place to the departed divine souls in his lotus feet and give strength to the bereaved family to bear this immense sorrow," he said.
Education Minister Madan Dilawar promised a high-level inquiry will be conducted into the incident.
He directed officials to rush to the spot and ensure that the children get proper treatment.
"A very unfortunate incident occurred in Piplod village in Jhalawar where roof of a school collapsed. I have instructed district collector and education officer to make all kinds of arrangements for treatment. The collector and other officers have reached the spot," he said.
Former chief minister Ashok Gehlot hoped for the speedy recovery of the injured students.
"There are reports of many children and teachers getting injured due to the collapse of a government school building in Jhalawar's Manoharthana. I pray to God for minimum loss of life and speedy recovery of the injured, " he said on X.
Leader of opposition Tikaram Jully also expressed grief over the incident.
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2nd phase of Bengal poll: Over 61 pc voting till 1 pm amid sporadic violence
Kolkata (PTI): Over 61 per cent of the 3.21 crore electors exercised their franchise till 1 pm of the second and final phase of polling in West Bengal amid attacks on a few candidates, while tension gripped the Bhabanipur seat briefly as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and BJP's Suvendu Adhikari took swipes at one another in the same booth area.
Voters queued up from 7 am outside booths in Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly, Nadia, North and South 24 Parganas and Purba Bardhaman districts, which form Bengal's electoral and political core.
Of the total electorate eligible to vote in this phase, 1.57 crore are women, and 792 are third-gender.
Till 1 pm, West Bengal recorded 61.11 per cent polling with Purba Bardhaman registering the highest turnout at 66.8 per cent, followed by Hooghly at 64.57 per cent and Nadia at 61.41 per cent.
Howrah registered 60.68 per cent polling, while North 24 Parganas recorded 60.18 per cent.
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Kolkata North and Kolkata South recorded 60.18 per cent and 57.73 per cent turnout, respectively.
South 24 Parganas, a politically crucial district witnessing several high-profile contests, registered 58.58 per cent voting.
The first phase of polls in 152 assembly seats of West Bengal on April 23 also recorded more than 62.18 per cent polling till 1 pm.
"Polling is underway peacefully, barring some minor incidents in certain areas. We have sought reports from the officials concerned," a poll panel official said.
The early-morning convergence of Banerjee and Adhikari in the same booth area in Chakraberia turned Bhabanipur -- the chief minister's electoral bastion -- into the centrepiece of the day, reinforcing the symbolic weight of their prestige battle seen as a rematch of Nandigram, where the BJP leader had defeated her in 2021.
Banerjee was seated outside the booth after receiving complaints of alleged intimidation of local TMC leaders when Adhikari arrived there, amid heavy deployment of central forces.
Stepping out of his car, Adhikari said, "I will not allow any hooliganism", while Banerjee accused the BJP of trying to "rig" the election using central forces, police observers and election officials.
"The BJP wants to rig this election. Polls in Bengal are usually peaceful. Is there 'goonda raj' (hooliganism) here?" Banerjee told reporters, alleging CRPF personnel had visited the homes of TMC leaders late Tuesday night and unleashed terror in the area.
She alleged that election observers were acting at the BJP's behest and claimed TMC workers were being selectively targeted across districts.
Adhikari dismissed the charges as signs of "frustration", claiming Banerjee had realised that "not a single vote" was coming her way.
Banerjee, who usually steps out of her Kalighat residence late in the day to cast her vote at Mitra Institution School, broke convention and hit the ground before 8 am, moving through Chetla, Padmapukur and Chakraberia, underlining the stakes attached to Bhabanipur and the wider battle for south Bengal.
Later in the day, tension flared up in the Kalighat area when Adhikari visited a polling booth and was greeted with slogans by TMC workers, prompting police intervention and a complaint by the opposition leader to the EC seeking deployment of additional central forces.
Security forces had to resort to a lathi-charge to disperse the crowd. Adhikari chased the sloganeering crowds, whom he alleged were "outsiders trying to influence the polls".
As soon as he reached the area, TMC workers and supporters raised slogans of 'Jai Bangla' and 'chor, chor' against him, while BJP activists responded with chants of 'Jai Shri Ram'.
Reports of violence, vandalism and tension surfaced from several districts.
In Nadia district's Chapra, a BJP polling agent was allegedly assaulted inside a booth during a mock poll. The BJP accused TMC supporters of attacking its agent, while the ruling party denied the charge. In Shantipur, a BJP camp office was found vandalised.
The ISF alleged that its polling agents were prevented from entering booths in South 24 Pargana's Bhangar.
Howrah's Bally constituency saw tension at a booth in Liluah after an EVM malfunction delayed voting, prompting central forces to lathi-charge agitated voters. Two people were arrested in the matter.
Police and RAF personnel were also seen chasing away crowds near a booth in Amdanga following complaints of unlawful gathering by bike-borne supporters.
In Panihati, BJP candidate Ratna Debnath, the mother of the RG Kar victim, faced protests and her car was allegedly stopped by TMC workers, while in Jagaddal, the recovery of a firearm near a polling booth triggered tension before police and central forces restored order.
BJP candidate from Basanti assembly constituency in South 24 Parganas, Bikash Sardar, on Wednesday, alleged that "200-250 TMC goons" attacked his car and assaulted his driver when he was visiting polling booths in the constituency.
The TMC did not immediately respond to the allegations.
Unlike the first phase, where the BJP sought to defend its north Bengal gains, the final round has shifted the battle squarely to the TMC's strongest belt.
In 2021, the ruling party had won 123 of these 142 seats, leaving just 18 for the BJP and one for the ISF. For the BJP, breaching this southern fortress remains critical if it hopes to mount a serious challenge for power in the state.
