Tamil Nadu teen dies by suicide after failing to clear NEET

A 19-year-old medical aspirant allegedly died by suicide in Tamil Nadu’s Tiruvallur district after failing to the clear the NEET-UG examinations, results of which were declared on Wednesday (September 7).

Reports said the teen was found hanging at her house hours after results of the entrance examinations were declared. Her parents rushed her to the KMC Hospital in Chennai, but she was declared dead by doctors there. The body has been sent for post-mortem.

The incident comes days after a 21-year-old girl, who had written the exam, was found dead at her residence near Surandai in Tenakasi.

The NTA had released the answer key for NEET days ahead of the publication of the results.

An 18-year-old boy who had died by suicide in early July, in his suicide note had said that he is taking the extreme step after finding it difficult to clear the examinations.

Rajasthan’s Tanishka topped the exams, results of which were declared on Wednesday. Delhi’s Vatsa Ashish Batra and Hrishikesh Nagbhushan Gangule from Karnataka bagged the second and third positions respectively.

The maximum number of candidates who qualified the exam are from Uttar Pradesh (1.17 lakh), followed by Maharashtra (1.13 lakh) and Rajasthan (82,548). Four candidates scored 715 out of 720 in this year’s NEET. However, Tanishka was declared the all-India topper through the tie-breaker method.

As many as 9,93,069 (56.3 per cent) of the 17,64,571 candidates who appeared for the exam qualified. In keeping with the trend, girls outnumbered boys by over 1.3 lakh in qualifying the exam. Nine candidates scored 710 out of 720 and were ranked from all-India 6th to 14th. “Candidates who scored identical marks are accorded ranks as per the tie-breaker rule where the candidate with higher marks in biology is ranked above the rest. In case of identical marks in biology, the same rule is applied for chemistry followed by physics. Even after this, if the scores remain identical, the elder candidate gets the higher rank,” an NTA official told PTI.

(Suicides can be prevented. For help please call Suicide Prevention Helplines: Sneha 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,  TN health helpline 104 and Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050.)