18 year old NEET aspirant commits suicide in Maharashtra, family says he found retest difficult

Mumbai: In a tragic incident, an 18-year-old NEET aspirant from Maharashtra's Hingoli allegedly committed suicide after reportedly finding the NEET UG 2026 re-examination difficult.

The aspirant had appeared for the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination held on June 21. The retest was conducted after the original NEET exam held on May 3 was cancelled due to allegations of a question paper leak.

As per NDTV media report, shortly before his death, the aspirant recorded a 33-second video on his mobile phone and sent it to his family.

In the video, the aspirant folded his hand and said, "Mom, I am going to take my own life today. Mom, please don't worry at all. In my next life, I will be born from your womb again and won't cause you this kind of pain."

"Just forgive me, Mom. Stay with ***, Mom. Take good care of yourself and don't worry about me. I am in deep pain... I can't do anything... I don't understand anything anymore. Just forgive me, Mom," he said before breaking down into tears. 

After sending the video to his family, he allegedly jumped into a well on Wednesday. His parents told the police that he had found the examination difficult.

NEET cancelled

The NEET UG 2026 examination was conducted on May 3 by the National Testing Agency 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, on May 12, 2026, the NTA declared the examination held on May 3 cancelled and subsequently announced a 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.

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

4 aspirants end lives 

Medical Dialogues had reported that nearly four NEET aspirants from Tamil Nadu, Hyderabad, Indore and Haryana committed suicide, days before the NEET UG 2026 re-examination on June 21.

While the National Testing Agency said that the re-examination was conducted with no complaints of paper leak, four aspirants ended their lives before appearing for the exam, with preliminary reports indicating that the pressure was extreme for them to endure for the second time.

Among them was a 21-year-old woman from Indore who had been preparing for NEET-UG for the past three years and allegedly died by suicide after jumping from a multi-storey building. In Hyderabad, another NEET aspirant allegedly died by suicide at her residence under the Miyapur Police Station limits. She was preparing for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) and was living with her two sisters in an apartment while pursuing her studies.

Meanwhile, a 20-year-old aspirant from Tamil Nadu allegedly died by suicide after hanging herself from a ceiling fan a day before appearing for the examination. In a separate incident, a 19-year-old NEET aspirant from Hisar district in Haryana allegedly died by suicide just hours before she was scheduled to appear for the highly competitive entrance test.

Also read- NEET re-test tragedy: 4 aspirants allegedly commit suicide before exam