Another Student Dies By Suicide Ahead of NEET Re-test, Hyderabad Teen Dies

Hyderabad: Another student suicide has been reported just ahead of the NEET re-test, with 19-year-old Sheikh Sana found dead in her apartment. Her family said she had been preparing for the NEET examination. Police recovered a note from the scene in which Sana had written that no one was responsible for her death and that she was ending her life by her own choice.

Sana's parents are based in Kuwait. She lived with her two younger siblings in an apartment in Miyapur, Hyderabad, under the care of an aunt who lives nearby. On Saturday morning, after having breakfast with her siblings, Sana went into her room to study for the exam and shut the door. When she did not respond to calls for lunch, her siblings checked on her and found her dead. Police suspect academic pressure to be the cause.

The original NEET exam, held on May 3, had been cancelled following a question paper leak, and the re-test was scheduled for Sunday when this incident occurred. Sana was a bright student who had scored over 90 percent in her exams and had been preparing for NEET for a year. Several suicides linked to NEET exam stress have been reported across the country, and this is the first such case reported from Telangana in connection with the exam.

According to available figures, 12 students have died by suicide since the original NEET exam was cancelled in May. The lapses by the central agency in conducting the exam have triggered nationwide protests, with various student organisations and political parties strongly criticising the agency. The satirical political collective Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) continues its protest in Delhi demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.