16-year-old NEET aspirant dies by suicide in Kota, fourth case this month
In the latest unfortunate incident of a suspected suicide by a NEET aspirant, a 16-year-old student was discovered hanging in his hostel room in the Kunhari area, as reported by the police on Thursday. The deceased, identified as Aryan, was found in his hostel room at Kamla Udhyan in Landmark City on Wednesday night. Aryan, originally from Bihar's Nalanda district, had been a class 12 student preparing for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) at a coaching institute in Kota for over a year. He had returned to Kota from his hometown just last month after the annual break, according to Kunhari Circle Officer DSP Shankar Lal.
According to Kunhari Circle Inspector Ganga Sahay Sharma, Aryan attended his last class on Tuesday but skipped Wednesday's session and remained in his hostel room. Concerned about their son's unresponsiveness to their repeated phone calls, Aryan's parents informed the hostel warden. Upon arriving at his room around 9 pm, the warden discovered the door locked from the inside and promptly informed the police. The authorities had to force open the door, leading to the discovery of Aryan's lifeless body. It has been transferred to a mortuary, awaiting the arrival of his parents for the post-mortem examination, as stated by Sharma.
DSP Lal pointed out that the fan in Aryan's hostel room did not have an anti-suicide device, a violation of the guidelines established by the Kota district administration and Kota Hostel Association to prevent such incidents in hostels. Preliminary investigations suggest that distraction from studies due to a romantic involvement might have been the cause behind the suicide, according to the DSP. The police found love letters addressed to a girl in the victim's room, adding to their observations. Lal further mentioned that they are yet to acquire Aryan's performance sheet from the coaching institute to evaluate his academic progress and attendance.
This incident marks the fourth suicide case involving a coaching student in Kota this month, and the ninth reported this year thus far. Interestingly, the last two suicides also occurred in the Kunhari area. On May 12, a 17-year-old NEET aspirant named Navlesh from Patna, Bihar, was discovered hanging in his room at Krishna Vihar. Similarly, on May 11, another NEET aspirant, Dhanesh Kumar Sharma (15), from Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh, tragically took his own life by hanging himself. Additionally, on May 8, Mohammed Nasid (22), a NEET aspirant from Bengaluru, ended his life by jumping from the tenth floor of a multistory building in Vigyan Nagar area.
It is disheartening to note that last year, fifteen coaching students lost their lives to suicide in this coaching hub. With over 2.25 lakh students estimated to be attending classes in various coaching centers in the city this academic session, aiming to crack entrance exams for medical and engineering colleges, it is essential to address the mental health challenges they face. If you or someone you know requires assistance, please reach out to any of the helplines provided: Aasra (Mumbai) at 022-27546669, Sneha (Chennai) at 044-24640050, Sumaitri (Delhi) at 011-23389090, Cooj (Goa) at 0832-2252525, Jeevan (Jamshedpur) at 065-76453841, Pratheeksha (Kochi) at 048-42448830, Maithri (Kochi) at 0484-2540530, Roshni (Hyderabad) at 040-66202000, and Lifeline (