Chennai: A 21-year-old medical aspirant died of alleged suicide on Saturday, apparently 'apprehensive' over the National Entrance cum Eligibility. The deceased, identified as Mothilal, a resident of Namakkal district, was found hanging at his residence. Initial inquiries revealed that Mothilal was stressed and had fear of failure, which prompted him to take this extreme step. This is the third such case reported in the state in the last 24 hours.
Earlier in the day, two medical students Aditya and Jothisri allegedly ended their lives over 'fear' and 'stress' of NEET exam. Aditya was found hanging at his house and preliminary investigation revealed that the was worried about the exam, which prompted him to take this extreme step
Jothisri Durga, daughter of a police Sub-Inspector, was found hanging at her residence and a purported suicide note left behind by her said she was 'apprehensive' about NEET though others had high 'hopes' on her, police said.
The deaths, which comes days after another medical aspirant in Ariyalur in the state also allegedly committed suicide, drew sharp responses from Tamil Nadu political
parties opposed to NEET, even as Chief Minister K Palaniswami and his deputy O Panneerselvam of the ruling AIADMK expressed shock over the incident.
DMK President M K Stalin said NEET 'is not an exam at all'. Taking to Twitter, Palaniswami expressed grief over the 'sad' incident and said students have many avenues to taste success and resorting to such extreme steps was distressing. "It is distressing to see students, the hope for the future, taking such steps," he said.
Condoling the girl's death, he expressed his sympathies with the family. In a tweet, Panneerselvam expressed grief over such incidents concerning the students, who are the "pillars of the future."
"Students should learn to face any situation with guts and parents should aid them in this," the deputy CM, also the AIADMK Coordinator, said. State Revenue Minister R B Udhayakumar visited the family and consoled them. Stalin, Leader of the Opposition in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, expressed shock over the alleged suicide but said killing oneself was not the solution.
"We can realise from the death of Anitha (a medical aspirant who died of suicide in 2017) to Jothisri Durga that NEET is severely affecting students," he said in a tweet. "I repeat, suicide is not a solution; NEET is not an exam at all. #BanNeet_SaveTNStudents," he added.
In a separate statement, he appealed to students not to resort to such extreme steps, asserting that success has to be achieved through struggle. Training his guns on the Centre and the state government, he said: "the student community is falling prey to the fire called NEET fuelled by them."