18-Year-Old NEET aspirant dies by suicide in Kota: Third case in 17 days

An 18-year-old NEET aspirant from Odisha died by suicide in Kota, Rajasthan. His body was discovered hanging in his PG room in Vigyan Nagar. This incident marks the third suicide in Kota in just 17 days. Last week, two JEE aspirants also took their lives in separate incidents.

The young student had come to Kota for NEET preparations. Police were alerted to the scene, and the body was taken to the hospital. Authorities informed the family, and the body remains in the mortuary awaiting post-mortem after their arrival.

This marks the third suicide in Kota in less than three weeks. Earlier, two JEE aspirants, aged 19 and 20, died by suicide last week in separate incidents, one from Haryana and the other from Madhya Pradesh.

Kota, known for its coaching institutes, has long been a site of concern due to student suicides. In 2024, the district witnessed a slight decline in student suicide rates, with 19 reported cases compared to 29 in 2023. The decrease has been attributed to improved monitoring of coaching centers and hostels under district administration's guidelines. Kota Collector Ravindra Goswami stated that the efforts are yielding positive results in reducing suicides by nearly 50%.