Boy, 17, Dies By Suicide Week After Kota Arrival, 2023 Count Climbs To 16

A 17-year-old boy who arrived in Kota last week to prepare for medical entrance exam NEET died by suicide today, pushing up the number of student suicides in the education hub this year to 16.

The teenager, Pushpendra Singh, was from Jalore, nearly 500 km away. A week back, he came to Kota and enrolled with a coaching centre to prepare for NEET. This morning, he was found dead at his hostel. Police have not found any suicide note so far and a probe into the matter is on.

The incident has yet again put into focus the disturbing trend of suicides by students at Kota. Every year, lakhs of students from across the country flock to the prominent education hub to prepare for competitive exams for entry into the country's top engineering and medical colleges.

Over the past few years, several students have died by suicide in Kota. Many have blamed the pressure of studies and the fear of failure among students.

Last year, 15 students died by suicide in Kota. This year, the number has already climbed to 16. Last month, two such suicides were reported in two days. In May, 5 student suicides took place in Kota.

Relatives of Singh, who came to collect his body, asked the administration to intervene and check the series of suicides.

"We are asking, why is this happening in Kota? Children come happy from home, this child spoke to his parents happily, then why did he do this? why is this happening? Our child was in Class 11, he came here 7 days ago, there was no stress," the teenager's uncle Indra Singh said. "So many deaths have happened, why is the administration not finding out why this is happening?"

Earlier this month. Kota police registered a case of abetment to suicide against a coaching centre in connection with the death of Bhadur Singh, 17, from Rampur district in Uttar Pradesh.

In his complaint, the student's brother Jai Bhim Singh alleged that the coaching institute harassed the teenaged boy and suspended him from the institute. This led to depression and distress and pushed the boy to die by suicide, the family alleged.