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Another NEET aspirant dies by suicide in Kota, 26th this year
A 20-year-old student preparing for NEET in Kota, Rajasthan, died by suicide, bringing the total number of such cases in the coaching hub to 26 this year.
A 20-year-old student, who was preparing for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for admission in undergraduate medical courses, died by suicide in Rajasthan’s Kota district on Monday night, police said on Tuesday, taking the total number of such cases in the state’s coaching hub to 26 this year.
According to police records, the number is by far the highest since 2015.
Providing details, Dadabari station house officer (SHO) Rajesh Pathak said the student, from West Bengal, took the extreme step at his rented accommodation, at Waff Nagar in Dadabari area, where he was staying since July last year.
“The student had locked himself in his accommodation in the afternoon. When he did not respond to repeated knocks by other students living in another accommodation in the same building, the landlord arrived and checked through a window and found him hanging from a fan,” Pathak said.
“Upon receiving information, police rushed to the spot and broke open the door to recover the body,” he added.
No suicide note was found and preliminary probe did not suggest any behavioural changes in the student, the SHO said. “The body has been sent to the district medical college hospital for an autopsy. We will search his room and are also waiting for his parents to arrive. A probe is underway,” he said.
Kota is the centre of India’s test-prep business, estimated to be worth ₹5,000 crore annually, according to officials in the district administration. Students from around the country arrive here in huge numbers after completing Class X, and register in residential test-prep institutes. They also enrol in schools, most of which are largely for purposes of certification.
Students attend classes only in the test-prep institutes, which prepare them for their Class XII examination, but more importantly, entrance examinations such as NEET and Joint Entrance Examination (JEE). Some students find the grind stressful, especially because they are away from their families.
On September 18, a 16-year-old student from Uttar Pradesh, who was preparing for NEET, died by suicide in Vigyan Nagar area of the district. On September 13, a 16-year-old student from Jharkhand died by suicide in Vigyan Nagar.
According to police data, 15 students died by suicide in Kota in 2022, 18 in 2019, 20 in 2018, seven in 2017, 17 in 2016, and 18 in 2015. No suicide took place in 2020 and 2021.
Considering a rapid surge in such cases, the Kota district administration on August 18 ordered all hostels and paying guest (PG) accommodations to install spring-loaded fans in rooms “to provide students mental support and security”.
On September 28, the Rajasthan government announced a mandatory screening test, the alphabetical sorting of students into sections instead of a ranking-based one, and the admission of students who are in Class IX or higher among measures to keep a check on suicides among such students.
