24th suicide case of the year: 16-year-old NEET aspirant hangs herself in Kota

A 16-year-old student preparing for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) to secure admission in undergraduate medical courses, died by suicide in Kota, Rajasthan, late on Tuesday night. This tragedy marks the 24th such case of student suicide in the coaching hub of Kota this year alone, according to the police records, which is the highest since 2015. Shockingly, seven of these cases were reported in the past month.

The victim hailed from Ranchi, Jharkhand, and had arrived in Kota last May to pursue her medical aspirations. She had been residing in a hostel in the Vigyan Nagar area, sharing her accommodation with another girl.

The incident took place when the teenager locked herself inside her room and took her own life by hanging from the ceiling fan. Surprisingly, no suicide note was found at the scene as reported by the police.

The body has been sent to the district medical college hospital for a thorough autopsy, and the parents of the deceased have been informed.

This tragic incident adds to the growing concerns over student suicides in Kota. Just on August 27, two other NEET aspirants, hailing from Bihar and Maharashtra, also died by suicide within six hours after appearing for their weekly test at a coaching institute.

In the past, Kota has witnessed a worrying pattern of student suicides, with 15 reported cases in 2022. In light of this alarming surge in such cases, the Kota district administration, on August 27, issued an order directing coaching centers to suspend all tests for the next two months, as a measure to address the growing mental health crisis among students.