NEET aspirant from Uttar Pradesh found dead in Kota

Kota: In an unfortunate incident, a 17-year-old NEET aspirant allegedly committed suicide by wrapping his face with a plastic bag in Rajasthan’s Kota, police said on Thursday.

Initially, it was suspected to be a case of suicide. However, the student’s father alleged that his son was murdered following which the Rajasthan Police on Friday registered a case of murder against six people, including a classmate of the boy and the hostel owner.

Based on the father's complaint, an FIR was registered at Vigyan Nagar police station under IPC sections 302 (murder) and 120 (criminal conspiracy) against a classmate of the deceased, hostel owner, two hostel managers, and two unidentified persons, Deputy Superintendent of Police Dharmveer Singh, who was deputed as investigating officer in the case, said.

Also read- Another NEET Aspirant Found Dead In Hostel Room In Kota

The accused classmate is a minor and lived in the hostel room adjacent to that of the deceased. The classmate hails from the same area in Uttar Pradesh. The investigating officer of the case said there was no evidence of murder so far and that they are conducting further probes.

Earlier in the day, on the demand of the parents, a postmortem was conducted on the body by a five-member medical board, the police said.

The parents earlier refused to take the body until a case of murder was lodged in the matter and met City Superintendent of Police Sharad Choudhary. 

The deceased, a native of Uttar Pradesh’s Rampur, was found dead inside his hostel room in the Vigyan Nagar police station area, they said.

Police said he took his life on intervening nights of Wednesday and Thursday. However, the incident came to light in the morning when his parents’ calls went unattended and they alerted the hostel caretaker who broke open the door and found the boy’s body.

The ceiling fan in his room was equipped with an “anti-suicide device”. To end his life, the teenage boy covered his head and face with a plastic bag and also tied a cloth around it, Circle Officer (Vigyan Nagar) Dharmveer Singh told PTI.

This is the 17th case of suspected suicide by a coaching student in Kota this year. In 2022, at least 15 cases of suicide by coaching students were registered in Kota. 

A suicide note was found pasted on the room’s wall wherein the boy held no one responsible for his extreme step, Singh said.

The victim was a class 12 topper and had come to Kota along with three schoolmates from his town in April. The four friends lived in the same hostel in separate rooms, he said.

According to the victim's friends, the boy was a brilliant student and had a fun-loving nature. He had scored 93 per cent marks in class 12 and was also doing well in routine tests at the coaching institute, the CO said.

They alleged that when they discussed the coaching students committing suicide in Kota, he would often say that he would be the next to commit suicide but they took it as a joke, he said.

The officer said that the victim’s family has been informed and the post-mortem will be conducted after the arrival of his parents.

Over 2 lakh students are currently taking coaching for entrance exams in various coaching institutes in the city. 

Also read- NEET Aspirant Commits Suicide A Week After Arriving At Coaching Hub, 16th Such Case From Kota This Year