S Anitha, TN girl who took up fight against NEET in Supreme Court. 
Tamil Nadu

TN girl who took up fight against NEET in Supreme Court kills self

The dreams of 17-year-old Dalit girl S Anitha of pursuing a career in medicine were dashed after she was found hanging in her house at Kuzhumur in Ariyalur district on Friday evening. She had spearheaded the cause of Tamil Nadu’s exemption from NEET in the Supreme Court, and police said that failure to bag a medical seat based on the NEET score led her take the extreme step.

migrator

Chennai

Anitha scored 1,176 marks out of 1,200 in her Class 12 board examinations with a medical cut-off of 196.5. After the government announcement making NEET mandatory for MBBS admissions, she had approached the apex court and filed a case against NEET as she firmly believed that students with a rural background, such as herself, would be affected by this decision.

She was confident that her Class 12 results would guarantee her a seat in a renowned medical college of the state. She had even told the media that rural students like her did not have the means to take coaching classes to prepare for NEET. Anitha scored only 86 in NEET and this might have triggered the suicide. Her body was taken to Ariyalur Government Hospital for an autopsy, even as the Tamil Nadu Government ordered a probe by the District Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP).

Expressing his heartfelt condolences to Anitha’s parents, Health Minister Dr C Vijaya Baskar promised all help to the family from the government side.

Meanwhile, protests broke out in various parts of the state, slamming the AIADMK-led government for her death. Various political parties also cornered the state government for its failure to get exemption from the NEET.

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