Stolen panchaloha idols from Udupi temple recovered hours after theft
Udupi (Karnataka), Mar 13 (PTI): Panchaloha idols stolen from the Sri Rama Temple in Udupi district were recovered near a riverbank just hours after the theft, police said on Thursday.
Unidentified miscreants broke into the temple late Tuesday night and made away with sacred idols of Lord Rama, Sita, Lakshmana, and Hanuman, along with the temple's donation box, police said.
However, the stolen items were mysteriously abandoned near a riverside, leading to their swift recovery, police added.
The burglary came to light early Wednesday morning when temple staff arrived for daily rituals and discovered the break-in. The police were immediately alerted, and an investigation was launched, police said.
A tracker dog squad traced the thieves’ movements to a riverside nearly 600 meters from the temple, where an ornament was found.
Expert divers were then deployed, leading to the recovery of the idols and the donation box from the water, a senior police officer said.
The investigation is ongoing, with efforts underway to identify and apprehend those responsible for the break-in, police said.
A case has been registered at Kota Police Station, and further investigations are in progress, they added.
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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.
