Kota: An 18-year-old student from Odisha preparing for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) in Rajastha’s Kota allegedly died by suicide in his hostel room, yet again highlighting the call for scrutiny of performance pressure faced by students in the coaching hub.
This makes the third such case in just 17 days in Kota, known for its several coaching centers where students from across the country enrol to prepare for competitive exams.
Police said no suicide was recovered from the student’s hostel room in Vigyan Vihar’s Ambedkar Colony where the student was found hanging on Thursday night.
The student has been identified as Abhijit Giri, a resident of Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district. He had been preparing for NEET at a coaching center in Kota since April 2024.
The incident came to light around 8 pm when a mess worker went to deliver food to Abhijeet’s room, police said.
Getting no response, the worker, along with a few hostellers, forcibly opened the door and discovered him hanging from the ceiling fan, Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Lal Singh Tanwar was quoted as saying by PTI.
What police said about student’s suicide
A police team arrived at the scene and sent the body for a post-mortem, which will be conducted once his family arrives. They have been informed of the incident, the ASI added.
No suicide note was found in the room, and the reason behind the suicide remains unclear, the ASI added. The ceiling fan in the hostel room lacked a suicide prevention device, which is mandated by the district administration to curb suicides in student accommodations, he noted.
Preliminary investigations indicate that Abhijeet was academically strong and attended his coaching classes regularly.
This marks the third suicide by a coaching student in Kota this year. The city, a major hub for coaching institutes, recorded 17 such cases in 2024.
