Goa NEET aspirant allegedly commits suicide, police probe possible link to exam cancellation

Panaji: In a tragic incident, a 17-year-old NEET aspirant has allegedly committed suicide at his residence in Goa. A suicide note recovered from the scene stated that the student was upset and stressed over competitive examinations.

Based on the contents of the note, police are currently trying to determine whether the student took the extreme step following the cancellation of the NEET UG examination. The student had reportedly appeared for the exam on May 3 and ended his life just hours after the National Testing Agency (NTA) officially announced the cancellation of the examination. However, police have not directly linked the death to the exam cancellation.

In the purported handwritten suicide note, the minor reportedly stated that he had been under extreme stress due to competitive examinations for the past two years and was unable to cope with the pressure.

He was a hockey player and was serious about the sport. He mentioned in the note that he was finding it difficult to balance academics and sports. The student further wrote that he no longer wanted to appear for such examinations.

Also read- 35 year old doctor preparing for NEET PG found dead at home in Varanasi

As per the latest media report by Indian Express, the incident took place between 10 pm and 11 pm on Tuesday. The student had bolted the door of his room from inside. When there was no answer despite repeated knocking, the family forced open the door and found he had died by suicide.

According to police, the incident came to light around 11:15 pm after family members informed authorities that a room inside the house had been locked from the inside. Before police reached the spot, relatives and neighbours reportedly opened the room using spare keys and found the teenager unconscious.

Following this, the police were alerted and before the team could reach the spot, the relatives and neighbours reportedly opened the room using spare keys and found the teenager unconscious. They immediately took him to the South Goa District Hospital in Margao, where doctors declared him dead on arrival, reports Republic World.

The police then initiated inquest proceedings, and a case of unnatural death has been registered. During the preliminary investigation, the police recovered the suicide note from his room. 

According to the statement of the family members, the student allegedly died by suicide due to pressure of exam performance. However, the exact reason is yet to be determined by the police. 

The NEET UG 2026 exam was conducted on May 3 by the National Testing Agency and was held from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM in pen-and-paper mode. Over 22.7 lakh aspirants appeared for the examination this year. It took place across 551 cities in India and 14 cities abroad, covering over 5,400 centres.

However, the NTA on May 12, 2026, declared the cancellation of the examination held on May 3. Recently, the agency announced that the re-examination will be conducted on June 21, 2026.

This came in the backdrop of the probe by the Rajasthan Police Special Operations Group, which reportedly found a “guess paper” containing more than 100 questions similar to those asked in the NEET UG examination. The question paper series under scrutiny has been described as a “guess paper” which reportedly contained around 410 questions. Out of these, nearly 120 questions are alleged to have appeared in the Biology and Chemistry sections of the examination.

Also read- NTA to conduct NEET 2026 re-exam on June 21