PATNA: Some 1,400 primary school teachers have quit in an eastern Indian state in recent months amid an ongoing investigation into fake qualifications, an education official said on Friday. More resignations are likely before the end of an amnesty period that allows teachers in Bihar to quit to avoid legal action for falsifying their degrees, state education department principal secretary RK Mahajan said. The High Court ordered an investigation in May into the state's 350,000 primary teachers on concerns that up to 25,000 had joined government schools without proper training. Resignations poured in as the probe got under way, with officials scrutinising teacher CVs, before the court ordered the amnesty last month, which ends on July 9.

Hema Malini hurt

NEW DELHI: A car accident involving popular Bollywood actress and Indian lawmaker Hema Malini killed a four-year-old girl late Thursday and injured several others, including the politician, reports and an official said. The 66-year-old member of Parliament in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party was rushed to a local hospital with minor injuries after her Mercedes reportedly collided with a small hatchback in the western desert state of Rajasthan. "One girl child has died in the accident," local state lawmaker Shankar Lal Sharma told reporters. "Hema has injuries above her eyes, on her back and legs. I drove her to the hospital in my car. She was in pain," he added. The impact killed the four-year-old girl in the other car and injured three co-passengers and the driver, who were also taken to hospital. Malini, an MP from UP, was reportedly travelling from Agra to Jaipur when the accident occurred.