Jaipur: Three teenaged students studying at private coaching institutes in Rajasthan’s Kota have committed suicide in two separate incidents, police said on Monday.
The bodies of the students who were 17, 18 and 19 years old, have been kept in a mortuary with a thorough investigation underway.
Kota is the country’s biggest coaching hub where students were students enrol to prepare for medical and engineering entrance exams.
According to Kota SP Keshar Singh Shekhawat, two of the students – both from Bihar, aged 18 and 19 — were studying at a prominent coaching institute. They were found hanging from a ceiling fan in their paying guest accommodation.
“The two were Class XI students staying in different rooms of the same PG accommodation for the past six months. We are trying to find out whether they were friends. The incident came to light when the owner of the PG informed police control room,” Shekhawat said.
The PG owner got suspicious when one of the boys did not respond to repeated knocks on the door till late in the morning, which was unusual. The owner broke open the door to find him hanging from the ceiling fan.
Shekhawat further said that the sister of the second boy went to meet him at the PG during afternoon.
“He was staying in the room next to the first boy. When he did not open the door, it was also broken open and he was also found hanging from the ceiling fan,” the SP said.
No suicide note has been recovered from either room. Mobile phones of the two boys are being checked to get more information.
“The two were living in Kota for the past three years and probably committed suicide last night after dinner. The second boy had even called his sister last night,” police said.
In a separate incident, a 17-year-old student took his life by allegedly consuming some poisonous substance. He reportedly died during treatment.
Police said the third boy, who was from Madhya Pradesh, was preparing for National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET), and had been 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 of Kunadi police station.
No suicide note was found on him either, but police recovered rat poison from the room.
These incidents have once again put the spotlight on students who are under extreme pressure to perform well in medical and engineering entrance exams.
Last month, a 16-year-old student from Uttarakhand allegedly committed suicide in Kota. In July, a 16-year-old NEET aspirant from Andaman & Nicobar Islands took his life in Kota.
More than 50 students have committed suicide in Kota over the last six years, Huinduatan Times reported.
The Rajasthan government plans to introduce a bill to regulate coaching institutes following rising cases of student suicides in Kota.
The bill will make it mandatory for coaching institutes to admit students on the basis of an aptitude test, no glorification of students performing well in entrance exams and mandatory audit of balance sheets of the institutes.
