Hours after he lost his father to a blaze at home, 16-year-old Lokesh Malwankar had to appear for his SSC board exam. The fire broke out at 7 last morning, sparked by a short circuit in a local shop in Girgaum
Suhash Malwankar
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Hours after he lost his father to a blaze at home, 16-year-old Lokesh Malwankar had to appear for his SSC board exam.
The fire broke out at 7 last morning, sparked by a short circuit in a local shop at Kakadwadi chawl. It spread to the nearest house, where Lokesh lived with his parents, Suhash Malwankar (45) and Chaya Malwankar (40).
Lokesh was fortunate enough to escape with 10% burns, but his parents sustained serious ones. Locals took the family to JJ hospital, where Suhash was declared dead.
Barely did he have time to digest the loss of his father, when it was time for Lokesh's social studies exam. In consideration of the tragedy he had suffered, however, his school - St Teresa's High School, Charni Road - requested the Mumbai Divisional Board that he be allowed to appear for the exam at the school instead of the centre allotted to him.
"Considering the mental and emotional state of the student, we have allowed him to appear for the rest of the papers from his school," said CY Chandekar, secretary of the Mumbai division of the state board.