A 20-year old medical aspirant near Mettur in Salem district died by suicide on Sunday. He was found hanging from the ceiling fan in his room, hours before the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for admissions to medical colleges across India.
The police said the student, S. Dhanush from Koolaiyur village near Mettur in Salem district, killed himself due to the fear of failure in his third attempt to clear NEET. He had appeared for NEET exams in 2019 and 2020, but was unable to clear.
Dhanush's father Sivakumar said his son was studying in his room till 1am. “We thought he was sleeping in the room. We found him hanging from the fan when we entered the room in the morning to wake him up for the exam,” Sivakumar said.
Dhanush has been telling his parents that this time too, he would nor clear NEET. "We consoled him whenever he appeared low,” Sivakumar said. Dhanush’s elder brother is an engineering graduate.
The police registered a case under Section 174 of the IPC, recording the suicide as unnatural death.
“We are continuously fighting against NEET. Our Chief Minister M.K. Stalin is taking various measures with the support of other chief ministers to get exemption from NEET,” School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi said.
Expressing shock over the suicide, Health Minister Ma Subramanian said a resolution against NEET will be brought in the assembly on Monday. The health minister appealed to the students not to take such extreme step. He further said the government could not obtain exemption from NEET this year due to short time frame.
Meanwhile, opposition leader and former chief minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami, who hails from Salem, slammed the DMK government for making false promises in their poll manifesto. He accused the ruling DMK of creating confusion among the students who did not know whether the NEET exams would be conducted or not.
In a statement, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin appealed to the students not to take such extreme step and added that he committed towards getting exemption from NEET. He said the DMK will pass a resolution in the assembly on Monday seeking permanent exemption from NEET.
Stalin further said he will write to chief ministers of other states and seek their support to fight the central government which introduced the NEET.
