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Rajasthan: JEE aspirant dies by suicide in Kota; 19th case this year
Police also said no suicide note was recovered from the spot, and the preliminary probe indicated no behavioural changes in the student
A 16-year-old Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) aspirant allegedly died by suicide at Mahaveer Nagar in Rajasthan’s Kota on Friday night, police said, two days after another medical aspirant hailing from the same coaching institution was suspected of having died by suicide, taking the number of such cases in Rajasthan’s coaching hub to nineteen this year, with thirteen cases, occurring in the past three months alone.
According to the police, the student was a native of Bihar. He arrived in Kota for the engineering entrance preparation in April and was staying in a paying guest accommodation with four other students, police said.
“His landlord found him hanging from the ceiling fan last (Friday) night when he went to check on him following his father’s request as he was not responding to his phone calls. Later, the landlord informed the police, and the body was sent to the district medical college hospital for autopsy,” said Harsh Raj Kheda, deputy superintendent of police (DSP), Kota.
Police also said no suicide note was recovered from the spot, and the preliminary probe indicated no behavioural changes in the student. However, further investigation will be conducted once the student’s family arrives in the city, said Kheda.
Meanwhile, the family of the 17-year-old National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) aspirant who was found dead in his hostel room in Kota’s Vigyan Nagar on Thursday have alleged that their son was murdered.
They also filed a case on Friday under Indian Penal Code section 302 against the hostel owner, four staff, and one of his hostel-mates who also hailed from the same school as the victim in Uttar Pradesh.
To this, DSP Dharmaveer Singh said, “Videography of the autopsy is underway. This is a rare case, but we didn’t get any evidence of any second party’s involvement in the matter. Further investigation is underway. No evidence for murder has been found.”
Kota, a hub for India’s test-preparation industry, generates an estimated annual revenue of ₹5,000 crore.
Students from all over the country flock to Kota after completing their 10th grade to enrol in residential test-prep institutes and schools, primarily for certification purposes.
These students primarily attend classes at the test-prep institutes to prepare for their Class 12 exams and crucial entrance examinations like NEET and JEE. However, the demanding nature of their studies, coupled with being away from their families, can lead to significant stress for some students, officials familiar with the developments said.
On July 17, a 17-year-old NEET student died by suicide in Kota’s Jawahar Nagar, while another JEE student on July 8. Last July saw another four alleged student suicides in Kota and two NEET students died within a span of 10 hours on June 27.
On June 16, a 17-year-old student from Bihar who failed to clear the NEET exam also allegedly died by suicide in Mahaveer Nagar. Furthermore, on June 12, another 17-year-old JEE aspirant, allegedly died by suicide in Jawahar Nagar.
A surge in suicide cases has prompted the Rajasthan government to consider a law to regulate private educational institutes – from schools to universities to test-prep specialists – and ease the academic pressure on students, especially those enrolled in private coaching centres or online tutorials.
Additionally, the state police department on June 22 also introduced a students’ cell, comprising an additional superintendent of police, three inspectors or sub-inspectors or assistant sub-inspectors and six constables, including female cops, who will hold regular interactions and keep a check on students across coaching centres.
In response to a query by Congress MLA Panachand Meghawal, the state home department in February said 52 students died by suicide between 2019 and 2022.
The department believes the reason behind such extreme steps is a “lack of confidence in students if they score less marks”. Other factors are “high expectations of the parents, physical and mental, and study-related stress”, it said.
