Distressed over NEET 2026 cancellation, 3 aspirants allegedly commit suicide in Delhi, UP, Rajasthan

New Delhi: In an unfortunate incident, three more NEET aspirants have recently reportedly committed suicide in separate incidents reported from Delhi, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh.

The family members of these aspirants said that stress related to the cancellation of the NEET-UG 2026 examination and uncertainty about their future have been a contributing factor.

The total reported death toll has now reached four, with Medical Dialogues recently reporting the death of a 17-year-old NEET aspirant from Goa. The student had reportedly left behind a suicide note stating 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 also mentioned finding it difficult to balance academics and hockey, a sport he was serious about. The student further wrote that he no longer wanted to appear for such examinations.

Following this, three more suicide cases involving NEET aspirants came to light - a 22-year-old aspirant from Rajasthan’s Jhunjhunu district, a 20-year-old female aspirant from Delhi’s Azadpur area, and a 21-year-old aspirant from Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri district.

The deaths were reported following the sudden cancellation of the NEET-UG 2026 examination due to paper leak allegations.

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, cancelled the examination held on May 3 and subsequently announced that the re-examination will be conducted on June 21, 2026.

The following decision triggered anxiety and anger among lakhs of medical aspirants across the country, who expressed feeling shocked, stressed and uncertain about their future. While some aspirants supported the decision to cancel the examination in the interest of fairness, others said that they are being forced to suffer because of the actions of a few people.

The cancellation of the examination affecting over 22 lakh students has reportedly placed immense mental pressure on aspirants.

Rajasthan

A 22-year-old NEET aspirant from Jhunjhunu district had been preparing for the entrance examination in Sikar for the past three years while living in a rented room in the city’s Jaldhari Nagar area. He was hopeful of scoring 650 marks in the examination, believing his selection was certain, but unfortunately he allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in Sikar.

His family members said that he had been under severe stress and had fallen into depression following the cancellation of the medical entrance examination. They said he had worked hard for the exam for the past three years and had performed very well this time.

The incident reportedly took place after he had returned to his hometown two days earlier. Police said that while his sister had gone to bathe, he allegedly used her scarf to hang himself in the room on Friday. When she returned, she reportedly found him hanging from the ceiling fan. She immediately cut the scarf with scissors and informed the landlord and police.

He was taken to SK Hospital, where doctors declared him dead. His body was later kept in the mortuary of the govt hospital for postmortem procedures. The incident has left the family devastated.

His father told TOI, "We had invested our entire savings, nearly Rs 8 to Rs 11 lakh, into his education. We even postponed building our own house because we wanted to ensure a bright future for Pradeep."

Delhi

In another incident, a 20-year-old NEET aspirant allegedly committed suicide at her residence in Delhi’s Azadpur area. According to her twin sister, she had been preparing for medical entrance examinations since completing Class 12 and had appeared for NEET multiple times.

Although no suicide note was found at the spot, the deceased's family members suspect that she took the extreme step due to the cancellation of the national entrance test, a senior police officer said.

Her family told the police that she had been preparing for the NEET examination for several years and had appeared for the test this year, hoping for a good rank but was was distressed after reports that the examination was cancelled.

A relative said, "Last time, she missed clearing NEET by merely four marks."

A senior officer told TOI, “Her family said that she appeared for NEET in 2022 and 2023 too. The team has been told by the family about how distressed she was after the exam this year and we are trying to ascertain what exactly drove her to take such a step."

Another relative said, "She was preparing for NEET for the last three years with the dream of becoming a doctor.. After the NEET exam cancellation, she became very depressed."

Another relative added, "The girl was very good in academics. After she got to know about the paper leak and cancellation of the exam through the news, she went into depression."

Speaking to HT, her sister said, "She wanted to be a doctor. In her previous attempt, she was just short of four marks. This time, when she took the exam on May 3, she was very hopeful that she would clear the exam.”

Uttar Pradesh

A 21-year-old NEET aspirant, who had appeared for the examination on May 3 for the third time, allegedly died by suicide on Thursday at his house in the Gangotrinagar locality. Family members said he was highly confident of clearing the exam this year, but became distressed following the cancellation of the examination.

Though no suicide note was recovered from the locked room where he was found hanging, his parents and other close family members attributed the paper leak and consequent cancellation of the exam behind the act.

His father told PTI that this was his third NEET attempt, and he was highly confident of clearing the exam this time.

The incident took place after he had returned to the city from the village on Wednesday and did not hide the stress and agony he was undergoing over the exam cancellation.

"He was under immense mental stress after the NEET exams were cancelled following reports of a paper leak," his family told PTI.

Inspector Rajesh Kumar Singh, Lakhimpur Kotwali police station in-charge, told reporters that no suicide note was recovered from the room where he was found hanging.

He said his body had been sent for a postmortem to ascertain the exact cause of death.

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