Three students died by suicide in two separate incidents on Monday in Rajasthan’s Kota, reported the Hindustan Times.
All three students were enrolled in the Allen Career Institute in Kota, the police said, according to The Print.
Two of the students, identified as Ankush Anand and Ujjwal Kumar, were from Bihar. The third student who died in another incident was identified as Pranav Verma. The 17-year-old was from Madhya Pradesh and had allegedly consumed poisonous substance.
Anand and Verma were preparing for the National Eligibility and Entrance Test for admission to undergraduate medical courses, while Kumar was studying for the Joint Entrance Exam for engineering colleges.
“They [Anand and Kumar] were found hanging from a ceiling fan in their accommodation,” said Kota Superintendent of Police Keshar Singh Shekhawat, reported the Hindustan Times. “The first was 19 years old, while the second was aged 18.”
Anand and Kumar were Class XI students and were staying in different rooms of the same paying guest accommodation for the past six months, the police said. “We are trying to find out whether they were friends or not,” Shekhawat said. “The incidents came to light when the owner of the PG [paying guest accommodation] informed the police control room.”
Kota is known as the hub of coaching institutes where students from across the country come to prepare for entrance examinations for engineering and medical colleges. The city is known for high suicide rates among students who are under high pressure to perform in such competitive examinations.
Also read: Inside Patna’s exam hub, where a million hopes die every year
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