Ranchi, Feb 20: The Jharkhand Academic Council (JAC) admitted that the Class 10 science board exam paper was leaked before the examination held on Thursday morning.

JAC President Natwa Hansda announced that the exam will be cancelled now in the entire state.

Following the leak, state Chief Secretary Alka Tiwari convened a high-level meeting on Thursday afternoon. The government has ordered a thorough investigation into the matter.

Reports suggest that the science question paper had been circulating widely on Wednesday and was available for sale. Student leader Devendra Nath Mahato met JAC officials on Wednesday with a copy of the leaked paper.

When the exam began at 9.45 a.m. on Thursday, the questions matched exactly with the leaked version. The matter was immediately reported to the state government, prompting swift administrative action to cancel the paper.

Hansda stated that a high-level committee would be formed to probe the leak.

This is not the first time that a paper has been leaked in Jharkhand before the examination. Earlier, there were strong rumours about the Hindi exam paper being leaked.

Mahato had also submitted a memorandum regarding this to the JAC Secretary.

At that time, the council dismissed the claims, issuing a general notice urging students to ignore rumours. The notice emphasised JAC’s commitment to conducting fair and confidential examinations and warned against anti-social elements spreading misinformation to exploit students and parents financially.

The Class 10 board exams in Jharkhand commenced on February 11, with 1,297 examination centres set up across the state for 4,33,890 students.

Earlier the examination was to end on March 3, but according to the changed schedule, the exams will be conducted till March 4. However, now due to the cancellation of the Science exam paper, it will be further extended.

Nepal: The case of alleged suicide of Prakriti Lamsal, the 20-year-old Nepali student of Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) in Bhubaneswar is increasingly yielding fresh details. An audio clip, purportedly containing abuses hurled by Advik Srivastava (21), a fellow student of Prakriti, is being shared on various social media platforms. The clip records the verbal assault Srivastava subjected Prakriti to. In the clip, Advik can be heard making derogatory comments about Prakriti and her mother. He then even coerced a scared Prakriti to accept his demeaning accusations.

Prakriti Lamsal committed suicide on Sunday (February 16). It has been revealed that she was approaching KIIT officials for months and requesting them to action series of incidents that unfolded after that has raised questions on KIIT’s handling of the situation.

It has been alleged that as Nepali students protested against Lamsal’s death, they were forced by the institute to leave the hostels. KIIT officials reportedly assaulted the Nepali students. They were then put on a bus and taken to Cuttack railway station which is 20 kms away from the institute. Student, without a roof over their heads, had to take shelter on railway platforms.

The sequence of events has found mention even in Nepali media which has strongly demanded justice for Pakriti Lamsal and other Nepali students.

As the issue got raised in Nepali parliament, the Embassy of Nepal in India has also demanded proper investigation into Prakriti’s death. The embassy said on Monday that it had spoken with the institute and requested housing the Nepali students on the campus itself.

“The university authorities informed the embassy that they would operate the classes and house the students in the campus as per the embassy’s request,” the embassy said in a statement.

“The university has expressed its strong commitment to take the issue seriously,” it said further.

In India, Shiv Sena’s Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi took to X (formerly Twitter) to demand action against the institute.

Advik Srivastava meanwhile, has been arrested. Media reports say that he was arrested while trying to flee the state.

Una, Feb 13: Ten children were injured after roof tiles from the lobby ceiling collapsed onto them during their morning prayer session in Una in Gujarat’s Gir Somnath district.

The incident occurred at the primary school in Vashoj village, Una, on Thursday. Ten children sustained injuries ranging from minor to serious and were promptly transported to the Una Government Hospital via 108 emergency services for treatment.

Among the injured, students from Classes four and five suffered the most severe injuries, particularly to their heads. Four to five children were reported to be in critical condition and are currently receiving medical attention.

Preliminary reports suggest that the collapse may have been triggered by vibrations from loud music played at a nearby wedding ceremony.

More details were awaited as the probe was on.

However, this incident has raised concerns about the construction quality of the school building. Questions are being asked about the integrity of the structure and why such substandard materials may have been used. Authorities are expected to conduct a thorough investigation to determine the exact cause of the collapse and to assess the structural safety of the school building to prevent future incidents.

In recent years, Gujarat has witnessed several incidents involving structural collapses in educational institutions, raising concerns about building safety standards. In July 2024, a classroom wall at Shree Narayan Vidhyalay near Gurukul crossroads in Vadodara collapsed, injuring a Class 7 student. The incident occurred during a break, which prevented a major catastrophe as most students were outside the classroom at the time. The injured student received primary treatment and was reported to be stable.

In another incident in September 2024, at least 23 labourers were injured when iron beams of an under-construction structure fell upon them at Chandrabala Modi Academy in Kondh village near Valia town, Bharuch district. The injured were rushed to a hospital in Ankleshwar for treatment.