17-year-old JEE aspirant dies by suicide in Kota
Kota (Rajasthan) Jun 12: A 17-year-old JEE aspirant allegedly hanged himself in his hostel room, the eleventh case of suspected suicide this year by students taking classes at this coaching hub, the police said.
Bhargav Keshav's body was found hanging from the ceiling fan of his room at Rajiv Gandhi Nagar in the Jawahar Nagar area here, they added.
A resident of Nandurbar district in Maharashtra, Keshav was a student of Class 11 preparing for the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) at a coaching institute here for the past two months.
The boy allegedly hanged himself to death in his hostel room on Monday when his parents, who had reached here earlier in the morning to meet their son, stepped out to arrange breakfast, Jawahar Nagar Circle Officer DSP Amar Singh said.
When the couple returned to their son's room with food for him, they found the door bolted from inside and informed the caretaker. The caretaker peeped through the window and found Keshav's body hanging from the ceiling fan with a bed sheet, Singh said.
The boy was rushed to a hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead, he added.
The reason behind the alleged suicide is yet to be ascertained, the CO said, adding that no suicide note was recovered from his room, nor did the parents cite any cause.
During the preliminary investigation, one of the victim's classmates said Keshav was sincere in his studies, the DSP added.
The deceased's body was handed over to his parents after the post-mortem and a case of unnatural death was lodged under section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Code, the police said.
The latest incident is the eleventh case of suspected suicide by a coaching student in Kota this year so far.
Last year, at least 15 coaching students died by suicide. More than 2.25 lakh students are estimated to be taking classes in various coaching centres in the city this academic session to crack entrance exams of medical and engineering colleges.
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No unannounced load shedding in Kerala, outages due to overload, says Minister
Palakkad (PTI): Kerala Electricity Minister K Krishnankutty on Saturday said there was no unannounced load shedding in the state, attributing recent power interruptions to temporary overload caused by high consumption.
Clarifying concerns raised from various parts of the state, the minister said the disruptions are not deliberate but occur when demand peaks, particularly between 10 pm and 11 pm.
"It is not being done intentionally. Power consumption has risen sharply, and when there is excessive and indiscriminate usage, the system experiences overload, leading to natural supply interruptions," he told reporters here.
His remarks come amid complaints that several areas have been witnessing frequent power cuts, often lasting around 15 minutes and occurring multiple times during the night.
Krishnankutty said the state's power demand has crossed 6,195 MW, putting pressure on the supply system. He added that around 70 per cent of Kerala's electricity is procured from outside, and existing power banking arrangements have been exhausted.
"We have approached the Regulatory Commission seeking permission to purchase more power. However, this will come at a higher cost," he said.
The minister said the government is trying to avoid increasing electricity tariffs and urged consumers to exercise restraint in usage to help manage the situation.
Responding to opposition criticism over the ruling LDF's earlier claims of a decade without power cuts, he said the current situation is not unique to Kerala.
A power crisis is emerging across the country, he said, and sarcastically asked the Opposition to take note of the role of natural factors in this.
Krishnankutty expressed confidence that the situation would improve within two days, while cautioning that long-term energy security would depend on enhancing in-state power generation.
He also warned that future generations could face serious challenges if adequate electricity production capacity is not developed within Kerala.
