16 year old NEET aspirant allegedly commits suicide in Koderma, family alleged depression over exam cancellation

Koderma: In an unfortunate incident, a 16-year-old NEET aspirant allegedly committed suicide at her rented accommodation in the Chitragupta Nagar area.

Her family has alleged that she took her life as she was upset with the NEET UG 2026 examination being cancelled due to paper leak controversy, and had fallen into depression.

The girl’s father said that she had appeared for the medical entrance examination on May 3 and had been optimistic about her performance. However, she became distressed after the examination was cancelled and was worried that the retest would be more challenging.

"We counselled her several times, and she appeared to be coping with the situation. She had resumed her preparation and was regularly taking online tests," the father, who is an insurance agent, told PTI.

The incident took place on Sunday night when the girl was alone in her room, and her family called her for dinner. After receiving no response for a long time, family members forced open the door and found her body hanging with a scarf. She was rushed to a nearby private hospital, where doctors declared her brought dead. 

Also read- 18 year old NEET aspirant commits suicide in Kalaburagi

He said his daughter was taking an online test on Sunday evening. "At dinner time, we called her several times, but there was no response. We became concerned and broke into the room to find her body,” he said.

Relatives told the media that the girl was a bright student who aspired to become a doctor. After completing Class 10, she joined a reputed coaching institute in Delhi to prepare for NEET. After completing the course, she returned home and appeared for the examination. According to the family, she was confident she would clear the exam this year and was happy, as she believed her paper had gone well.

The family originally hails from Bihar’s Nawada district, and the deceased was her parents’ only child. The family is now in shock after losing their only child.

Following her death, the police have registered a case of unnatural death. 

The officer in charge of the Tilaiya police station, Vinay Kumar, told TOI, "The body has been sent to the Sadar Hospital for post-mortem examination. A case of unnatural death has been registered, based on the father’s statement. Further investigation is underway."

Koderma Superintendent of Police Kumar Shubhashish told India Today's sister channel Aaj Tak over the phone that, "The family and the father submitted an application to the police, but there is no mention of NEET in it. Accordingly, a UD (unnatural death) case was registered. After the post-mortem examination, the body was handed over to the family. The family has not filed any complaint against anyone." The SP added that the girl had appeared for the NEET examination and was planning to appear again.

NEET aspirants' suicides

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that approximately 93 aspirants reportedly died by suicide in cases linked to the NEET over the last five years, according to an analysis of media reports by India Today. The analysis found that 2025 recorded the highest number of such reported deaths, while 2026 has already seen at least 14 cases so far.

The year-wise data showed a steady rise in reported NEET-linked student suicides. At least four cases were reported in 2021, nine in 2022, 14 in 2023, 19 in 2024, and 32 in 2025. In 2026, at least 14 such cases have already been reported, including five after the announcement of the exam cancellation on May 12.

Among the recent cases were a 17-year-old student from Curtorim in Goa on May 14, another from Lakhimpur Kheri and another from Delhi on May 15, an NEET aspirant from Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan, who died in Sikar on May 16, and another from Kalaburagi in Karnataka on May 24.

The data further revealed that nearly one in five reported NEET-linked suicide cases involved students from Bihar (19.8%). Rajasthan accounted for 18.7% of cases, followed by Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu at 15.4% each, while Madhya Pradesh contributed 8.8%.

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 and subsequently announced the re-examination 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.

As an aftermath of the exam cancellation, protests were held, with aspirants and members of the medical fraternity blaming NTA and the Education Ministry for this failure.

Due to the alleged controversy, the central government decided to refer the matter to the Central Bureau of Investigation for a comprehensive inquiry into the allegations. Based on the centre's direction, the CBI registered an FIR in the case and has so far arrested 13 people.

Also read- NEET pressure! 93 suicides since 2021, 14 cases in 2026: Report