Kota (Rajasthan): Four students died by suicide in separate incidents in Rajasthan on Monday. Pranav Verma (17), a NEET aspirant of Madhya Pradesh's Shivpuri district, Ujjwal Kumar and Ankush (both 18 years old) from Bihar, and an MBBS student Surendra Kumar, 23, a resident of Bansur in Alwar district ended their lives though no suicide notes have been recovered by police yet.
Their bodies have been kept in a mortuary and the police have started an investigation to know the facts. Ankush and Ujjwal, both friends, were staying in the same hostel in adjacent rooms in Kota. One was preparing for the engineering college entrance, while the other was studying for the medical college entrance test. Pranav was also preparing for NEET for the past two years in Kota.
Also read: 14-year-old dies by suicide after father reprimands him for 'fancy' hair cut
Besides the three, Surendra Kumar, a final year MBBS student, was also found dead in his hostel room in Bharatpur on Monday. Surendra had an exam on Monday. He left the exam midway and went to the hostel, sources said. According to the hostel warden, two days ago his father also came to Bharatpur to meet him. Surendra was in depression for many days, the sources said.
Kota is generally known for coaching centers that provide preparatory classes for competitive engineering and medical exams. Notably, for the past many months, Kota has been plagued by many suicide cases.
It is pertinent to mention that over 13,000 students ended their lives in India last year, according to the data compiled by the National Crime Records Bureau. The number of student suicides in India has risen by 27% over the five years from 2016 to 2021. According to the NCRB report, most student suicides were reported from in Maharashtra with “failure in examination” as the primary reason for taking the extreme step.
(Suicide is not a 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.)
