Kota: A 17-year-old student from Mayurbhanj in Odisha, was found dead in his paying guest accommodation in Ambedkar Nagar under Vigyan Nagar police station limits here on Thursday. Police said the student was preparing for the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) when he took the extreme step. His family has been informed and further investigation is on, police said.
According to Additional Superintendent of Police Dilip Kumar Saini, the student was living in Kota for two years and enrolled in a coaching institute to prepare for the entrance examinations. As per preliminary inquiry, he had not attended classes for the past year, and his coaching institute account remained inactive, though he was supposed to attend classes for two years.
Dinesh Jain of the coaching institute, said the student was in Class 11 when he joined the institute. He used to continue to attend coaching alongside classes in the school. However, he suddenly stopped attending classes during Class 12.
The body has been kept at a hospital mortuary, and post-mortem will be conducted once the family arrives in Kota, police said, adding, investigation into the circumstances leading to the incident is on and the student’s room will be examined in the presence of his family.
This is the third suicide by a student in Kota this year. Earlier, two more students who were attending JEE tutorials in Kota, which is known as India’s coaching hub for competitive exams aspirants, had also died by suicide. While one was from Haryana, the other belonged to Madhya Pradesh, Recurring incidents of student deaths by suicide have raised serious concerns over the mental health challenges youngsters face.
As a measure to address the issue, the Kota district administration had started mentoring and monitoring of students. Hostel and PG operators were also asked to remain vigilant and report signs of depression or distress among students.
JEE exams this year are scheduled on January 24.
Recently, the Kota district administration had claimed that student suicide cases in Kota have dropped by almost 50 per cent in 2024 as compared to the previous year. "In comparison to 2023, the suicide rate among coaching students has decreased by 50 per cent in 2024. This shows that efforts are yielding positive results," Kota Collector Ravindra Goswami told PTI last month.
The official said that the decline in suicide cases can be attributed to strict compliance with guidelines for coaching institutes and hostels under active vigilance of the district administration.
Suicide is not the solution: If you are having suicidal thoughts, or are worried about a friend or need emotional support, someone is always there to listen. Call Sneha Foundation - 04424640050 (available 24x7) or iCall, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences' helpline - 9152987821, which is available Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm.
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