Chennai, March 2 (NationPress) A 19-year-old student from Tindivanam in Tamil Nadu’s Villupuram district reportedly died by suicide due to the pressure of potentially underperforming in the forthcoming National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET).

The young woman, known as Indhu from Thadapuram village near Tindivanam, was discovered hanging at her residence on Saturday while she was alone.

Indhu had successfully completed her Class 12 from a government higher secondary school in her locality with commendable grades. She had also participated in NEET coaching at a private institute in Puducherry and had taken the exam the previous year, achieving a score of 350, but unfortunately did not pass.

With a strong resolve to succeed this time, she had been diligently preparing for the exam once again and had recently obtained her OBC certificate, which she submitted with her application.

On Saturday (March 1), while her family members were working in the fields, Indhu took her own life. Upon their return in the evening, her family discovered her hanging from the ceiling fan.

The family quickly notified the Velimedu Pettai police station, and officers arrived at the scene around 11 p.m. The police took custody of the body and sent it to Villupuram Government Medical College Hospital for a post-mortem examination.

An investigation into this tragic incident is currently ongoing.

This heartbreaking event follows a similar case from October 2024, when another 19-year-old student, S. Punitha from Keelmugam village in Edappadi Taluk, Salem district, also died by suicide after failing to secure a medical seat despite two years of NEET coaching.

Punitha had attended counseling for paramedical courses but was unable to secure a seat under the government quota, which led to her distress.

The Tamil Nadu government has long contested NEET, arguing that the exam is unjust to economically disadvantaged and Tamil-medium students.

In June 2024, the state’s Legislative Assembly passed a unanimous resolution opposing NEET, following controversies over leaked NEET-UG 2024 question papers and the postponement of NEET-PG 2024.

The ruling DMK and its allies have persistently demanded an exemption for Tamil Nadu from NEET. In a May 15, 2024, editorial published in Murasoli, the DMK’s official newspaper, the party claimed that 119 NEET aspirants had died by suicide over the past eight years. The editorial emphasized that abolishing NEET is crucial to preventing student suicides and eliminating incidents of exam cheating.