Days before NEET entrance, 20-year-old aspirant kills himself in Kota; 8th suicide this year

Jaipur: A 20-year-old NEET aspirant hanged himself in Kota, days before the medical entrance exam scheduled for May 5. This is the eighth case of suicide in Kota this year. 

The student, Sumit Panchal, a resident of Haryana's, was residing in a hostel for the past one year. He was preparing for the NEET exam in Kota’s Landmark City in Kunhadi region, the police said.

According to cops, the incident took plac on Sunday, when he was not seen after lunch. When he did not respond to his parents’ call, they phoned the hostel warden who called the police and broke the room door open and found him hanging from the ceiling fan. No suicide note has been found. 

Police are not able to say whether he was under stress because of the impending exam. 

The police say they were informed around 9 pm on Sunday. The police say they did not find the anti-hanging device in the room, which has been made mandatory by the district administration. 

Sumit had taken the NEET exam earlier and he was scheduled to take the exam again.

His father, Vijaypal Panchal, who runs a fabrication shop, said Sumit was not under any pressure as they never pressured him to perform well in the entrance.

He said he had spoken to Sumit a few days back and found him to be in the "perfect mood". Sumit’s grandfather Ramkumar Panchal is demanding a thorough investigation and claims that it is not a suicide case.

Kota, the country’s coaching hub, which sees over two lakh students each year preparing for the country’s toughest exams of NEET and JEE entrance, has become infamous for the spate of student suicides. In 2023, there were at least 26 suicides. 

In 2024, the number of student suicides stand at eight. Although the state government has come out with strict guidelines, the number of suicides by students does not seem to be abating. Government's guidelines include mandatory screening tests before admission, forming sections not based on ranks and performances, no glorification of toppers, regular counselling by hiring trained professional psychiatrists to keep a check on students’ mental health, mandatory holidays, half-day fun and respite from regular, tough exams,