20 days after coming to Kota, NEET aspirant hangs self; 13th suicide this year  

A 16-year-old medical aspirant hanged himself from a ceiling fan in his hostel room in Kota, just 20 days after joining a coaching centre here to prepare for NEET, police said on Tuesday.

This is the 13th case of suspected suicide by a coaching student in the country's coaching hub since January and the third in April alone.

A native of Bihar's Katihar, Tameem Iqbal was found hanging from a ceiling fan in his hostel room in Talwandi area on Monday evening, the police said.

No suicide note was recovered from the room and the reason behind the extreme step by the boy is yet to be ascertained, Jawahar Nagar Circle Inspector Ramlaxman said.

He said the hostel caretaker informed police after the boy did not open the door on Monday night, despite repeated knocking.

The police team broke open the door and found the minor boy hanging from the ceiling fan, he said.

Initial inquiry revealed Iqbal was a class 11 student and came to Kota just 20 days ago. He also enrolled in a coaching institute to prepare for NEET, the officer added.

The boy's uncle, who lives in Delhi, reached Kota on Tuesday morning and the body was handed over to him after the post-mortem, he said, adding that a probe is under way.

Seventeen coaching students died by suicide in Kota in 2024. In 2023, the number stood at 26.