Tamil Nadu girl commits suicide after failing NEET, second such incident this week in state

Tiruchirappalli: Apparently upset over her inability to clear the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET), a medical aspirant is believed to have committed suicide in Tiruchirappalli, the second such incident reported from Tamil Nadu this week. Subasri, who scored only 24 in the examination for admission to medical courses , was depressed the past few days and hanged herself in her house in Tiruchirappalli on Wednesday night, the police said. Her parents broke open the door to her room and took her to a hospital, where she died without responding to treatment on Thursday morning. Subasri’s death comes days after 19-year old Prateebha, the academically ‘bright’ daughter of a farmhand, allegedly committed suicide in Tamil Nadu’s Villupuram district after failing to clear NEET. [caption id=“attachment_1195707” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of medical student. Reuters[/caption] The incident set off a political blame game. Opposition parties, led by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), brought up Prateebha’s death in the ongoing Assembly session. DMK Working President MK Stalin urged chief ministers of other southern states and West Bengal to oppose NEET, saying it discriminated against non-Hindi-speaking students. The Tamil Nadu government has said it still opposes NEET, recalling its efforts to secure an exemption for Tamil Nadu such as adopting resolutions in the Assembly in this regard. The police on Thursday said Subasri, who aimed to join an MBBS course, scored only 907 out of 1,200 in her Class XII exam but hoped to clear NEET as she had attended coaching classes. Her poor NEET score shocked and saddened her, and she had been very anguished since then, officers said. Subasri’s father Kannan, a transport corporation employee, and mother had tried to pacify her and asked her not to worry. The police said her parents had tried to divert her attention by taking her out, including to a temple, but she was very ashamed and depressed. On Wednesday night, she went to her room while her mother was cooking and hanged herself, the police said, adding that her body was handed over to her parents after an autopsy. Tamil Nadu Minister of Transport MR Vijaya Baskar visited the bereaved family and offered his condolences. Kannan said his daughter had been dreaming to study medicine and serve the poor. Despite her hard work, she could not clear NEET, he added. This is the third reported suicide since last year of a Tamil Nadu student failing to clear NEET. Anitha, a Dalit girl from Ariyalur, had ended her life in 2017 for not passing the exam.