Shah to launch highway project, hold meeting on Left-wing extremism in Odisha
Bhubaneswar (PTI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah is scheduled to launch a national highway project here on Saturday, besides attending meetings on Left-wing extremism and disaster management at the state secretariat.
The home minister flew into Bhubaneswar late on Friday night, and was received at the airport by BJP state president Manmohan Samal and Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi, among others.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is also expected to attend the two back-to-back meetings at the state secretariat.
There is, however, no official confirmation about any one-to-one meeting between Shah and Patnaik.
Shah's visit to the state comes amid the BJD extending its support to the bill replacing the Delhi services ordinance in a boost to the treasury benches, especially in Rajya Sabha, and also backing the BJP-led NDA government against the no-confidence motion brought by opposition parties in Parliament.
The home minister will also visit the BJP's state office on Saturday afternoon, and hold a closed-door meeting with party leaders.
His last visit to the state on June 17 was cancelled in view of cyclone Biparjoy' hitting Gujarat.
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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.
