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Rajasthan: NEET aspirant allegedly dies by suicide in Kota, 17 in last six months
The officials familiar with the matter said that the student, a native of Jalore district, arrived in Kota for the medical entrance preparation only a week ago and was staying in a hostel with his cousin
A 17-year-old National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) aspirant allegedly died by suicide in Jawahar Nagar area of Kota on Sunday night, said police.
This is the 17th incident reported from the district this year, with 11 cases occurring in the past three months alone.
The officials familiar with the matter said that the student, a native of Jalore district, arrived in Kota for the medical entrance preparation only a week ago and was staying in a hostel with his cousin.
According to the above officials, the minor boy’s cousin and hostel manager informed the police about the incident and the body was sent to the district medical college hospital for autopsy.
Also Read: Rajasthan: Another JEE student dies by suicide in Kota, 16 in six months
“Preliminary investigations have not yielded any suicide note at the scene. Families have arrived in the city. However, no report has been filed so far”, assistant sub-inspector of Jawahar Nagar police station, Prem Prakash said.
The student’s uncle questioned the rise in the number of such cases in Kota.
“Why are there so many suicide incidents happening? The administration should answer this. My nephew was not even forced to come here like many others who died by suicide. Rather he came here willingly and that too just a week ago”, he said.
Reacting to the same, the Kota district collector, Om Prakash Bunkar, said, “We regularly monitor the coaching centres whether they follow the guidelines properly.”
On July 8, another 17-year-old Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) aspirant was found dead in his rented accommodation in Rajasthan’s Kota, police said.
An official familiar with the matter said that the student came to Kota from Uttar Pradesh district to prepare for the national entrance examination for engineering courses.
In wake of such cases, the Rajasthan government has proposed a bill to regulate coaching institutions, that envisages an aptitude test before enrolment, a mandate not to glorify toppers, and for institutes that have often been accused of profiteering at the expense of students to get their balance sheets audited.
In reply to a question raised by an MLA Pana Chand Meghawal in February, the state home department said that there had been 52 deaths in Kota between 2019 and 2022, and that underlying reasons included a “lack of confidence in students if they score less marks; high expectations of the parents; physical, mental, and study related stress”.
Police investigations have also revealed other causes such as a financial crunch, blackmailing and personal relationships, the reply tabled in the state legislature had said.
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