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Vignesh’s father, even as inquiries into the possibility of suicide are underway, said his son had failed to clear the test in two earlier attempts and was anxious over his score this time around.
In Tamil Nadu’s Ariyalur district, the death of an aspiring medical student on Wednesday took a controversial turn after the boy’s father claimed that it was a case of suicide.
Vishwanathan, the boy’s father, said his son, Vignesh (19), took the extreme step over fear and anxiety about the forthcoming National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET). However, no suicide note has been found yet.
Outraged over the incidence, political parties in the state reiterated their demand for scrapping the test.
Vignesh’s father, even as inquiries into the possibility of suicide are underway, said his son had failed to clear the test in two earlier attempts and was anxious over his score this time around. Four days ahead of the exam, the 19-year-old boy’s body was found floating in a well.
“Yesterday, we took him out to buy new clothes. Around 5.30 pm, we took him to the temple. We returned and then he studied till 9 pm and went to sleep. Usually, he used to wake up at 4 am and start studying. This was his routine. When I woke up at 4.30 am, I did not find him anywhere. At 9 am, we found his chappals near a well and that is how we found out. It is only because of stress due to NEET that he decided to end his life,” Vishwanathan told News18.
Vignesh had secured a seat in agricultural sciences last year, but he decided to study harder again and crack the NEET.
Villagers, soon after the incident spread in the locality, staged a demonstration demanding immediate scrapping of the examination.
Expressing grief over the NEET aspirant’s suicide, DMK president MK Stalin said one more life has been lost over the national test. “When the merciless Central government would stop the NEET. How many more lives should we lose?” the leader asked and appealed to the student community to face life boldly and give up suicidal tendencies.
Political parties in Tamil Nadu, including the ruling AIDMK, have been opposing the centre’s move to conduct the exams, stating that it goes against social justice, the backward classes, and interests of rural students who could not afford coaching classes.
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