18-year-old girl dies by suicide in Kota, second case in less than a week

The victim was to give the JEE test in a day or two. She lived at her family home in Shiv Vihar Colony in the city's Borekheda area

An 18-year-old student preparing for JEE allegedly died by suicide in her home in Kota on Monday due to study pressure. The victim reportedly hanged herself in her room, from where a suicide note was also discovered.

"Mummy, papa I can't do JEE. So, I suicide…", the note written in English said, according to police. "I am a loser. I am the worst daughter. Sorry mummy papa. Yahi last option he," the note added.

The victim, identified as Niharika Singh, was to give the JEE test in a day or two. She lived at her family home in Shiv Vihar Colony in the city's Borekheda area.

This marks the second suspected suicide case in Rajasthan's coaching hub in less than a week.

On January 23, a 19-year-old student was found hanging in his hostel room in Kota. The victim, identified as Mohammed Zaid, belonged to Uttar Pradesh's Moradabad.

Centre issues guidelines for coaching centres

The tragedy follows days after the Centre issued guidelines for private coaching centres in a bid to curb rising suicide cases and unchecked growth of coaching institutions.

These norms bar coaching centres from enrolling students below the age of 16 years and instruct adopting measures on the mental-health counselling system, among others.

According to the new guidelines, which were issued on January 18, coaching centres may face a penalty of up to Rs 1 lakh or face cancellation of registration for charging "exorbitant fees."

The new rules also mandate that coaching hubs induce more transparency in their functioning by updating all the details on their website. Fresh instructions on hiring of educators at these institutes have also been laid out.

Additionally, the Centre has prohibited the private tutors from changing fee structure in the middle of the ongoing course duration to safeguard the interests of the parents and students.

Notably, as many as 26 students died by suicide in 2023 in Kota. The National Crime Records Bureau's (NCRB) latest annual report noted that a total of 13,044 students took their lives in India in 2022.

(With agency inputs)