Postal ballot facility in assembly by-elections and MLC polls in K'taka for those infected by COVID
Bengaluru: The postal ballot option which was for disabled persons and elderly people above 80 years, has been extended to those who have tested positive for coronavirus or undergoing home or institutional quarantine for the byelections in Karnataka.
Rajarajeshwari Nagar in Bengaluru urban district and Sira in Tumakuru district are going to the bypolls on November 11,while elections to four MLC seats -- two each related to Teachers Constituencies and Graduate Constituencies-- are scheduled on October 28.
According to the order issued by the Chief Electoral Officer of Karnataka Sanjiv Kumar, the returning officer will have to make arrangements to deliver postal ballot and to get it collected from the said elector before the date fixed for poll in the constituency.
The order said the application for postal ballot paper from such electors should be accompanied by a copy of certificate or instructions from competent health authorities which show that the applicant is hospitalised in the state or in quarantine within the state due to COVID-19.
"The voter will be intimated in advance about the date and approximate time of visit of poll officials.
Such intimation may be given through SMS on the mobile phone number wherever the same has been mentioned in the application in Form-12D," the order read.
In view of the polls, the election commission has made masks, sanitisers, thermal screening and social distancing mandatory for the voters willing to vote.
The polling officers should wear face shields and gloves.
The CEO has permitted door-to-door campaign and public meetings subject to strict adherence to the coronavirus guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
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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.
