NEET aspirant dies by suicide in Kota, 15th case since January this year

In yet another tragic case of suicide by a student in Rajasthan's Kota, a 21-year-old male, who is studying for the competitive National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate) (NEET) died by suicide in his rented apartment on Wednesday (September 4) night.

This takes the number of student suicides in Kota to 15 this year. In 2023, the total number of student suicides in Kota was 23.

15th suicide in Kota

The NEET aspirant has been identified as Parshuram, who hailed from Mathura in Uttar Pradesh. According to reports, he had recently enrolled in a course to prepare for NEET and had moved to a rented apartment in Jawahar Nagar.

According to the police, the body was discovered after the landlord failed to get a response from him after knocking a couple of times at his door. He alerted the police around 11:30 pm, who then broke open the door to get into the apartment.

The student had died by hanging, however, no suicide note was found. A Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) team was called in to examine the scene.

The police said the reasons behind Parshuram's suicide remain unclear. His body has been sent to MBS Hospital for a post-mortem examination, which will be conducted once his family arrives in Kota. A  police investigation is on.

Earlier cases

Just last month, on August 20, police found the body of an 18-year-old coaching student, Kushagra Rastogi, in a bathroom hostel in Kota. The police said he was found dead in a suspicious condition. However, the parents did not permit the police to conduct a post-mortem and the body was handed over to the parents. The deceased was also from Uttar Pradesh though he had come from Prayagraj.

In July too, a 16-year-old engineering aspirant allegedly died by suicide by hanging himself from a ceiling fan inside his PG room in Kota. Sandeep Kumar Kurmi, a native of Bihar’s Nalanda district, was taking coaching for the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) in Kota for the last two years.

In June this year alone, there were three student suicides in Kota.

In May, the Kota police tied up with Meta to identify students exhibiting suicidal tendencies on the company's social media platforms, Facebook and Instagram, to be able to intervene and prevent them from taking drastic steps. 

(Suicides can be prevented. For help please call Suicide Prevention Helplines: Neha Suicide Prevention Centre – 044-24640050; Aasara helpline for suicide prevention, emotional support & trauma help — +91-9820466726; Kiran, Mental health rehabilitation — 1800-599-0019, Disha 0471- 2552056, Maithri 0484 2540530, and Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050.)