19-year-old JEE aspirant from Haryana dies by suicide in Kota days before exam

NEW DELHI: A 19-year-old student preparing for the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) for admission to various undergraduate engineering courses, died by suicide in Rajasthan’s Kota district on Wednesday, police said. As per the reports, no suicide note has been recovered from his place so far.

The student was a resident of Nava Mahendragarh in Haryana, and had been staying in a hostel in Kota since 2023 to attend coaching classes for JEE preparations.

“On Tuesday, he died by suicide in his hostel room . When he did not respond to the several knocks of the hostel, the owner of the hostel staff broke open the door and recovered the body,” Hindustan Times reported quoting the police officer.

After receiving the information about the death of the student under mysterious circumstances, Jawahar Nagar police reached the spot, sealed the room, and began the investigation.

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First such case of the year

The deceased student was reportedly preparing for JEE Main exam, scheduled to begin on January 22, 2025. The latest incident is the first such suicide case in Kota this year. Last year, around 23 people died by suicide across Rajasthan’s coaching hubs- of which 20 were only from Kota.

The Kota district administration recently reported a nearly 50% reduction in student suicides in 2024 compared to the previous year. "The suicide rate among coaching students has halved in 2024 compared to 2023, indicating that the efforts are having a positive impact," said Kota Collector Ravindra Goswami in a statement to PTI last month.

He attributed the decline in suicide cases to the strict enforcement of guidelines for coaching institutes and hostels, which are closely monitored by the district administration.

If you know someone – friend or family member – at risk of suicide, please reach out to them. Those in distress or having suicidal thoughts or tendencies could seek help and counselling by calling 9820466726 or visiting AASRA’s official website or can call iCALL on 9152987821. Here are some more helpline numbers of suicide prevention organisations that can offer emotional support to individuals and families.