19-yr-old NEET aspirant dies by suicide in Tamil Nadu's Madurai due to apprehensions over exam

Madurai: A 19-year-old medical aspirant allegedly died of suicide on Saturday, apparently “apprehensive” over the National Entrance cum Eligibility Test (NEET), police said. The victim, identified as Jothisri Durga, was found hanging at her residence and a purported suicide note left behind by her said she was “apprehensive” though others had “high hopes” on her, they said. The death, which comes days after another medical aspirant in Ariyalur in the state also allegedly died by suicide, drew sharp responses from the state’s parties who are opposed to the NEET, even as Chief Minister K Palaniswami and his deputy O Panneerselvam of the ruling AIADMK expressed shock over the incident. DMK president MK Stalin said the NEET “is not an exam at all.” Taking to Twitter, Palaniswami expressed grief over the “sad” incident and said students have many avenues to taste success and resorting to such extreme steps was distressing. “It is distressing to see students, the hope for the future, taking such steps,” he said. Condoling the girl’s death, he expressed his sympathies with the family. In a tweet, Panneerselvam expressed grief over such incidents concerning the students, who are the “pillars of the future.” “Students should learn to face any situation with guts and parents should aid them in this,” the deputy chief minister, also the AIADMK Coordinator, said. Stalin, Leader of the Opposition in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, expressed shock over the suicide, but said killing oneself was not the solution. “We can realise from the death of Anitha (a medical aspirant who died of suicide in 2017) to Jothisri Durga that NEET is severely affecting students,” he said in a tweet. “I repeat, suicide is not a solution; NEET is not an exam at all. #BanNeet_SaveTNStudents,” he added. PMK MP Dr Anbumani Ramadoss, whose party is an NDA constituent, condoled the student’s death and expressed his sympathies with her family. “#SayNoToNEET #BanNEET,” the PMK Youth Wing leader tweeted. His father and party founder Dr S Ramadoss also called for scrapping the exam. MDMK founder and Rajya Sabha MP Vaiko slammed the BJP-led Centre, saying suicides of students in the state were happening due to the “imposition” of NEET on them. Recalling various instances of suicides by students in Tamil Nadu, including that of Anitha, which had sparked an outrage in the state, Vaiko alleged that despite their high class XII scores, students from the poorer sections were “filtered” in NEET and their medical dreams “destroyed.” “Cancellation of NEET alone can prevent such deaths,” he said in a statement. Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam leader and independent legislator, TTV Dhinakaran and Makkal Needhi Maiam founder Kamal Haasan also expressed anguish over Durga’s death. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court had refused to entertain a batch of pleas seeking deferment or cancellation of NEET scheduled for Sunday. A bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan had said that authorities will take all necessary steps for conducting the NEET-undergraduate exam amid the COVID-19 pandemic for admission in medical courses. A collection of Suicide prevention helpline numbers  are available here. Please reach out if you or anyone you know is in need of support. The All-India helpline number is: 022 2754 6669