Three teenagers studying at private coaching institutes in Rajasthan’s Kota have committed suicide in two separate incidents, the police said on Monday, once again putting the spotlight on the country’s biggest coaching hub where students claim to be under tremendous pressure to perform well in medical and engineering entrance examinations.
Kota superintendent of police Keshar Singh Shekhawat said two of those students, both residents of Bihar, were studying at a prominent coaching institute. They were found hanging from a ceiling fan in their paying guest (PG) accommodation. The first was 19 years old, while the second was aged 18.
“The two were Class XI students and were staying in different rooms of the same PG accommodation for the past six months. We are trying to find out whether they were friends or not. The incidents came to light when the owner of the PG informed the police control room,” Shekhawat said.
According to him, the PG owner got suspicious when one of the boys did not come out of his room in the morning and did not respond to repeated knocks on the door. The owner then broke open the door and found him hanging from the ceiling fan.
In the afternoon, the sister of the second boy had come to meet him at the PG. “He was staying in the room next to the first boy. When he did not open the door, it was also broken open, and that boy was also found hanging from the ceiling fan,” the SP said.
Police said no suicide notes were found on either of the boys and their mobiles are being checked to get more information. “The two were living in Kota for the past three years and they probably committed suicide last night after having dinner. The second boy had even called his sister last night,” police said.
In another incident, a 17-year-old student, a resident of Shivpuri in Madhya Pradesh, committed suicide by allegedly consuming some poisonous substance. He died during treatment.
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The police said the boy was preparing for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET), an examination taken by students aspiring for admission in medical colleges. He was staying in Kota for two years.
“Last night, he was found unconscious in the gallery of the PG and was spotted by another student who had come there to fill water. He informed the hostel owner who took the boy to a hospital where he was declared dead,” said Ganga Sahay Sharma, station house officer, Kunadi police station. No suicide note was found on him, but the police have recovered rat poison from the room.
In the last week of November, a 16-year-old student from Uttarakhand allegedly committed suicide by hanging from the ceiling fan of his PG room in Indra Vihar in Kota. Earlier in July, another NEET aspirant committed suicide; the 16-year-old was a resident of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
As many as 19 students committed suicide in Kota in 2018, seven in 2017 and 17 in 2016, HT has learned
The Rajasthan government has announced plans to bring a bill to regulate coaching institutes in the wake of such rising cases of student suicides. The bill has a provision that makes it mandatory for coaching institutes to admit students on the basis of an aptitude test, no glorification of students performing well in entrance examinations for professional courses, and mandatory audit of balance sheets of the institutes.
