New Delhi, Jul 24: Candidates unable to reach test centres for JEE-Mains in heavy rain and landslide affected areas of Maharashtra will get another chance to appear for the engineering entrance exam, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan announced on Saturday.

"In light of the heavy rains and landslides in Maharashtra, to assist the Maharashtra student community, I have advised the @DG_NTA to grant another opportunity to all candidates who may not be able to reach the test centre for JEE (Main)-2021 Session 3," Pradhan said in a tweet.

"Students from Kolhapur, Palghar, Ratnagiri, Raigadh, Sindhudurg, Sangli & Satara, who are unable to reach their test centres on 25 and 27 July for JEE (Main)-2021 Session 3 need not panic. They will be given another opportunity,and the dates will be announced soon by the National Testing Agency (NTA)," he tweeted.

At least 76 people died, 38 others injured and 59 are missing after many areas in Maharashtra were hit by floods and landslides triggered by heavy rains.

Parts of the Raigad and Ratnagiri districts in the coastal Konkan region and Kolhapur district in western Maharashtra have been worst affected by the floods. Besides that, heavy rains have been pounding parts of the Satara district.

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



Kozhikode (Kerala) (PTI): A Kerala court on Wednesday sentenced a man to 41 years in prison for sexually assaulting a minor boy near Valayam in 2021.

Nadapuram Fast Track Special Court judge K Naushad Ali sentenced 64-year-old Panchara Musa, also known as Ganapathiyat Musa, under various provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Indian Penal Code (IPC), according to special public prosecutor Manoj Aroor.

As the sentences are to run concurrently, the convict will have to serve the highest term of 20 years’ imprisonment, SPP Aroor said. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 52,000 on Musa.

The incident took place in August 2021 when the accused allegedly took the 14-year-old boy to a bus stop in Valayam town and sexually assaulted him, the prosecutor said. The accused also gave Rs 50 to the boy, he added.

Following the incident, the boy and his father lodged a complaint at the Valayam police station.

A case under various provisions of the POCSO Act and the IPC was registered, and the accused was subsequently arrested, the SPP said.

The prosecution examined 16 witnesses and submitted 16 documents to substantiate its case against the accused, he added.