Around 30 students hailing from Karnataka safely evacuated from Ukraine: Govt
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka government on Sunday said around 30 students hailing from the state have been safely evacuated from war-torn Ukraine.
According to the data available with the Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA), based on the submissions it has received so far, about 397 people were stranded in Ukraine with 129 among them from Bengaluru.
"The Embassy of India, Kyiv, has started evacuation of stranded Indian nationals from Ukraine. The evacuation flights operating under Operation Ganga have started evacuating stranded Indian citizens in Ukraine through bordering countries, ie., Romania, Budapest, Bucharest, etc. Around 30 students hailing from Karnataka have been safely evacuated," Nodal Officer and Commissioner of KSDMA Manoj Rajan said in a statement.
The first batch of 12 students reached Bengaluru International Airport from Mumbai at 8.40 am today.
Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Coal and Mines Pralhad Joshi, state Revenue Minister R Ashoka and nodal officer Rajan received the arriving students at the airport here.
According to the statement, the second batch of 13 students, and a third batch of five students hailing from the state have reached Delhi and will reach Bengaluru later tonight, it said. They have been accommodated in Karnataka Bhavan.
"Overall, 30 students will reach Bengaluru today," the statement added.
Expressing joy over her safe return, a woman student said: "They have brought us safely - Indian government, Indian Embassy, Karnataka government. They arranged flight tickets for us. Hope other students stranded in Ukraine too return safely. Though there was fear, the Embassy assured us a safe return."
Another student said, "We were evacuated through Romania border, as we were in western part of Ukraine, but don't know how authorities will evacuate those stranded in other parts like Kyiv."
Expressing worry about friends back in places like Kyiv and Kharkiv, another student said, "They are actually in crisis as they hear bombing very often and are taking shelter in bunkers. Most of them are short of basic things like food and water."
Noting that authorities are facilitating the travel of students hailing from Karnataka to their respective destinations, the statement said the local tickets from Delhi and Mumbai to Bengaluru will be borne by the state government.
The Nodal Officer and his team are in constant touch with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to evacuate the remaining stranded students from Ukraine, it said.
The state government has opened a facilitation centre at Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi, to coordinate and support stranded students hailing from Karnataka, who are arriving there.
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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.
