Jaipur: A 16-year-old student preparing for the National Entrance Eligibility Test (NEET) in Kota, Rajasthan, was found dead in his hostel room on Sunday morning, according to officials familiar with the matter.
Jawahar Nagar Station House Officer (SHO) Harinarayan Sharma stated that they are yet to confirm if the student died by suicide. The police reported that the student returned to his room after dinner on Saturday night. When he was absent from his scheduled activities the next morning and did not respond to knocks on his door, hostel authorities broke in and found him lying dead on his bed.
Details and Investigation
The student, originally from Bihar, had been staying in Kota for the past year to prepare for NEET. Following the discovery, hostel authorities contacted the police, who took the boy to the hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead. The body has been sent for an autopsy.
SHO Sharma mentioned that no suicide note was found among the student’s belongings. “No behavioral changes were reported by anyone in the last few days. We are probing whether he attempted the last NEET test. His family has been informed,” he said.
Ongoing Concerns in Kota
This incident marks the 13th reported death of a student preparing for NEET or the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) in Kota this year. Last year, 27 students allegedly died by suicide in the state while preparing for various competitive exams.
Kota is a major hub for India’s test-prep industry, which is estimated to be worth Rs. 10,000 crore annually. Students from across the country flock to Kota after completing Class X to enroll in residential test-prep institutes. They also register in schools primarily for certification purposes, attending classes mainly at test-prep centers focused on preparing them for Class XII exams and entrance tests like NEET and JEE.