E-Paper
Karnataka teen dies days after NEET exam goes well; father wonders if ‘some feelings’ about re-exam played role
The student's father said that she had passed the PUC exam with 92 per cent marks, and had “performed well” in the NEET exam.
An 18-year old girl reportedly died by suicide in Karnataka's Kalaburgi district, days after appearing for the NEET-UG 2026 exam which was later cancelled by the National Testing Agency (NTA) over paper leak allegations.
The teen student's father said her first exam went well and that he didn't know what may have driven her to take the extreme step, news agency PTI reported on Sunday.
He said that she had passed the PUC exam with 92 per cent marks. The Karnataka School Examination and Assessment Board released the 2nd PUC results in April this year.
"There was no distress or problem in our family, and we were living happily," the father was quoted as saying by the news agency. However, he also wondered if his daughter had “some feelings” about writing the NEET exam again.
"She had performed well (in NEET), everything was going well. Maybe she had some feelings in her mind about writing it (NEET) again. I do not blame anyone, I do not accuse anyone. We do not know her pain or suffering. What can I say?" her father told the media as he broke down following her death.
NEET re-exam stress
The NEET-UG 2026 exam took place on May 3, but was cancelled after a paper leak was confirmed. The education ministry later announced that a re-exam will take place on June 21.
Despite assurances to students on full refund for medical entrance exam fees and special provisions like extra 15 minutes for exam formalities, students remain anxious over the re-exam, and the sudden cancellation of the May 3 exam came as a big shock.
Also Read: CBI questions parents who bought leaked NEET paper for their children
Many believe they performed well during the first time and are skeptical if that performance would be repeated again.
PTI quoted a police source as saying that the Karnataka student who died by suicide didn't leave a note behind. A case has been registered in this regard under the jurisdiction of Station Bazaar police station.
Suicides after NEET exam cancelled
The Kalaburgi case isn't the first instance of a NEET aspirant dying by suicide. An aspirant from Rajasthan’s Sikar, whose family was expecting him to score nearly 650 marks after the first NEET exam, died by suicide after it was cancelled.
A similar incident took place in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri, where an aspirant who was highly confident of clearing the examination in the third attempt died by suicide. There was no note found in that case too, but family members linked his death to the stress caused after the exam cancellation.
Discussing suicides can be triggering for some. However, suicides are preventable. A few major suicide prevention helpline numbers in India are 011-23389090 from Sumaitri (Delhi-based) and 044-24640050 from Sneha Foundation (Chennai-based).
