On Monday (27th November), a 20-year-old NEET aspirant from West Bengal committed suicide in the apartment he rented in Rajasthan’s Kota. This is the 28th suicide by a coaching student in Rajasthan’s Kota this year.
Faureed Hussain, a resident of West Bengal’s Birbhum district, had been preparing for the NEET medical entrance exam at a Kota coaching institute for about a year. Since July of this year, he has been residing in Wauf Nagar. He was living in a rented flat with some other students in the same building.
Suspicion grew about Hussain’s absence when he didn’t leave his room until 8 p.m. He was last seen in the afternoon of Monday (27th November). The friends of Hussain then reached his apartment to check on him but he didn’t open the door. The friends then informed the house owner.
The house owner subsequently informed police about the incident, and police rushed to the scene, according to Circle Inspector Rajesh Pathak of Dadabari police station. When police broke open the door, they discovered the 20-year-old hanging and lifeless.
“No suicide note was found in the room and the reason behind the extreme step is yet to be ascertained. Post-mortem will be done after his parents arrive,” the Police confirmed.
Notably, more than 27 students have ended their lives in Kota this year. Earlier on 28th September, a NEET student from Uttar Pradesh’s Maharajganj district committed suicide by hanging himself in his room. A 17-year-old student from Mau, Uttar Pradesh killed herself on 18th September in Kota by ingesting pesticide. She came out of her coaching establishment vomiting and was rushed to hospital where she passed away during treatment.
The alarming increase in suicide cases over the past few months has alarmed the local authorities and prompted them to take action. They have ordered coaching institutions to stop holding exams for a two-month period and mandated that anti-hanging mechanisms be installed in ceiling fans.
Furthermore, the Kota police are attempting to recruit hostel staff members including wardens, mess employees, and tiffin suppliers to look for any indications of stress or depression among the students residing in hostels and as paying guests.
Previously, Rajasthan authorities decided to make the premises ‘suicide-proof’ by installing spring-loaded fans in the rooms and “anti-suicide nets” on the balconies. Over 3 lakh students from across India are currently staying in Kota to prepare for various medical and engineering entrance exams.