19-year-old NEET aspirant dies by suicide in Salem

COIMBATORE: A 19-year-old NEET aspirant ended her life due to stress over taking a retest in Salem on Friday. S Gopika, daughter of Sekar (45), working in a saloon, and Bhuvaneswari (38), a daily wager, was preparing for NEET over the last two years after completing Class 12 at Salem Fort Government Girls Higher Secondary School. She had written NEET thrice, including the May 3 exam and was preparing hard for the retest. 

On Friday morning, when her parents had gone to a relative's house, Gopika ended her life by hanging at her house in Vellalapuram near Chinnappampatti.

“As she couldn’t be reached over the phone, the parents rushed home, broke open the locked doors and found the girl hanging. She was immediately taken to Salem Government Hospital. However, she died on the way,” police said.

Her mother, Bhuvaneswari, said, “My daughter was upset as NEET was cancelled. Yet, she was preparing hard and appeared normal. She told us that she was allotted an examination centre in Vazhapadi and asked us to drop her off on Sunday."

Father Sekar said his daughter was studying for the exam even in the morning. “She may have taken the extreme step, depressed over writing the examination repeatedly and out of fear of retest. It was her dream to become a doctor. This exam, which causes huge mental strain to students, should be cancelled,” he said.

The Konganapuram police have registered a case, and further investigations are on. This incident comes after a 19-year-old girl ended her life in Coimbatore on June 17 out of fear of retest.

Discussing suicides can be triggering for some. However, suicides are preventable. In case you feel distressed by the content or know someone in distress, call --- Sneha, Chennai: 91-44-2464 0050, 91-44-2464 0060; Maithri, Cochin: +91 239 6272; Sumaitri, New Delhi: 2338 9090; Aasra, Mumbai: 9820466726; Fortis MentalHealth: 8376804102.