Bengaluru (PTI): An earthquake of 2.9 magnitude was recorded in Vijayapura district on Wednesday, Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) said.

The community need not panic as both the magnitude and intensity observed are low, it added.

The earthquake occurred at 07:43:38 AM, and the epicentre was 2.5 kms north west of of Hattarkihal village in Yaranal gram panchayat of Basavana Bagewadi taluk, Vijayapura district, at the depth of 05 Km, KSNDMC said in a statement.

"As per the seismic intensity map of the earthquake from the epicentre, the intensity observed is low and the tremor might have been felt up to a radial distance of 50-60 kms from the epicentre," it said.

This type of earthquake would not create any harm to the local community as the intensity observed is low, though there might be vibrations felt locally, it further said, the epicentre falls in Seismic Zone III and the region is void of any structural discontinuities as per the tectonic map.

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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.