A tragic incident occurred in Kota, a prominent coaching hub, on Wednesday night when a 21-year-old NEET-UG aspirant, Parshuram Jatav, allegedly took his own life. Jatav, a resident of Barsana in Mathura district, was found hanging from the ceiling of his rented room, marking the 14th student suicide in Kota this year. In 2023, the city reported 26 student suicides.
Parshuram Jatav had been preparing for the NEET-UG exam and had recently returned to Kota for his third attempt after initially studying there for two years. His father, Khacharmal, a mason, believes that his son’s extreme step was driven by distress over a purported NEET-UG exam scam. Jatav had expressed a desire to return home during a call with his father on Wednesday afternoon, but subsequent attempts to reach him were unsuccessful.
The distressing discovery was made around 11 pm on Wednesday when the landlord noticed Jatav’s absence and contacted the police. They forced entry into the room, found the body, and transported it to the mortuary at MBS Hospital. No suicide note was found, and the police have yet to determine the exact cause behind the suicide.
Khacharmal claimed that his son had scored 647 marks in the initial NEET-UG results but saw a drastic reduction to 247 marks in the revised results, which he believes led to his son’s depression and eventual suicide. He alleges that manipulations within the NEET exam system, involving wealthy individuals, were responsible for his son’s despair.
The case is being investigated under Section 194 of the BNS, and the body was handed over to the family after a post-mortem on Thursday. Assistant Sub-Inspector Jawahar Singh and Circle Inspector Harinarayan Sharma are leading the investigation into the incident.
If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide or needs support, please reach out to one of the following helplines:
- Aasra (Mumbai): 022-27546669
- Sneha (Chennai): 044-24640050
- Sumaitri (Delhi): 011-23389090
- Cooj (Goa): 0832-2252525
- Jeevan (Jamshedpur): 065-76453841
- Pratheeksha (Kochi): 048-42448830
- Maithri (Kochi): 0484-2540530
- Roshni (Hyderabad): 040-66202000
- Lifeline (Kolkata): 033-64643267
