2 Students Die by Suicide, 6 Cases in Coaching Hub So Far

At least two students preparing for National Entrance Eligibility Test (NEET) and Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) respectively died allegedly by suicide in only three hours in Rajasthan's Kota district on Wednesday, taking the toll of such cases to six this year, officials familiar with the matter said.

- HT Correspondent

JAIPUR:

Last year, at least 20 students died by suicide in Kota, down from 27 a year ago.

The first incident took place at around 10 a.m. when a 23-year-old student, who was preparing for NEET for admission to an undergraduate medical course, died allegedly by suicide on Wednesday, police said.

Station house officer of Kota's Jawahar Nagar police station Ram Laxman Gurjar said: "The student, a resident of Gujarat's Ahmedabad, arrived in Kota six months ago and had been staying in a hostel to prepare for NEET in a reputed coaching institute."

"On Wednesday morning, when she did not respond to several knocks by her friends, the hostel owner arrived and found her body after breaking open the door," the officer said, adding that no suicide note was recovered from the place.

Meanwhile, the second incident took place at around 1 p.m. when the body of an 18-year-old student from Assam's Nagaon was found at his hostel room in Kota's Mahaveer Nagar, only five days before his JEE (Mains) exam, said police.

"The second victim arrived in the city two years ago. His mother also came two days ago to stay with him as his exam was nearing. The incident happened when his mother went off to the market. She returned and found the boy dead at his room," said Gurjar, adding that no note was recovered from the student's possession.

Amid a surge in suicide cases in Kota, where students from all over the country arrive in huge numbers after completing class 10 to prepare for various competitive exams—including JEE for admission to engineering colleges and NEET-UG for admission to medical courses—the Kota district administration in August 2023 issued several guidelines for hostels and PG accommodations, including installation of spring-loaded fans in rooms "to provide students mental support and security."