Kota (Rajasthan):

A 28-year-old man allegedly jumped into a canal h in Rajasthan’s Kota following a fight with his wife and his body was recovered 2 km away after 10 hours, police said on Monday.

The man, who was driving back from his in-laws’ house in Sakatpura on Sunday, stopped on the way, with his wife and children in the car, and jumped into Left Main Canal, they said.

The body of Raghunandan alias Nikki (28), a resident of Chechat town in Kota district, was recovered Monday morning and was handed over to family members after post-mortem.

According to police, after Raghunandan jumped, his wife Pinkki called the police immediately. Police rushed to the spot but the rescue operation could not be initiated as it was nighttime, Kunhadi Circle Inspector Arvind Bhardwaj said.

The rescue operation was launched on Monday morning and the body was recovered around 2 km away from the spot, he said.

Police handed over the body to family members after post-mortem and lodged a case under Section 194 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) for investigation, the CI said.

Raghunandan, who played dholak for bhajan performing groups, had earlier on Sunday posted on a social media platform regarding a family dispute but later deleted the post.

Pinkki worked as a dancer for the groups, Raghunandan’s father said. She had three children from her first marriage who were staying with the couple, he said. 

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Jaipur:

A 20-year-old student studying in Kota to crack the Joint Entrance Exam, or the engineering entrance test, died by suicide in his room on Wednesday. His death follows the suicide case of another JEE aspirant, a 19-year-old who was found hanging in his hostel room the previous evening.

Abhishek Lodha, 20, left a note stating that he felt he would not be able to clear the JEE, which is mandatory to get into the country’s top engineering colleges. “I’m unable to study. I am preparing for the JEE exams, but it’s beyond me. Sorry,” the note read.

Lodha, who was from Guna in Madhya Pradesh, had moved to Kota last May to prepare for JEE.

He was good in studies and had himself insisted on coming to Kota for coaching, said his elder brother Ajay. His uncle, who came to Kota to collect his body, said they spoke to him every day but he never expressed any stress about studies.

“He always said everything was good and going well. ‘I am busy with preparations’ is what he told us. The last time we spoke to him was the evening before the incident,” said his uncle.

The police, too, suggest it appears to be a case of exam stress.

“It appears to be stress. We will write to the administration to take action against the PG accommodation as the room where the student died did not have an anti-hanging device in the fan,” said Mukesh Meena, Vigyan Nagar police station in-charge.

The evening before, Neeraj from Haryana’s Mahendragarh was found hanging from the ceiling fan in his hostel room. This despite an anti-hanging device installed in the fan.

His father Babloo Prajapat said he had spoken to his son earlier in the afternoon and that Neeraj was planning to come home by the evening train. His younger son is also in Kota preparing for the NEET, or the medical entrance exam.

Calling for a fair investigation into the case, Mr Prajapat has questioned how his son died by hanging despite an anti-hanging device installed in the fan.

Rajasthan’s Kota, the coaching capital of the country, welcomes students from different states to prepare for competitive entrance exams. The downside, however, is a rise in suicide cases among students that poses a challenge to the counsellors as well as district administration.

Last year, the number of suicides in Kota had come down by 38% to 17 as compared to 24 in 2023.

Kota, Rajasthan:

A 20-year-old youth, who was preparing for the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE), allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself from a ceiling fan in his PG room in Rajasthan’s Kota district, police said on Wednesday.

The deceased was identified as Abhishek, a resident of Guna in Madhya Pradesh, who had been preparing for the JEE at a coaching institute in Kota since May last year. He lived in a PG room in Dakaniya area under the Vigyan Nagar Police Station here.

It is the second case of suicide by a coaching student within 24 hours in coaching hub Kota as another JEE aspirant from Haryana, identified as Neeraj (19), was found hanging from a noose in his hostel room late Tuesday evening.

Vigyan Nagar Police Station SHO Mukesh Meena told PTI that Abhishek (20), a resident of Guna in Madhya Pradesh, allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself from a ceiling fan in his PG room.

The deceased youth had been preparing for JEE-Mains at a coaching institute here since May last year, he added.

The SHO said that they received information in this regard around 7.45 pm on Wednesday following which the police personnel rushed to the spot.

The youth’s body has been placed in the hospital mortuary for post-mortem to be conducted after the arrival of his family members, who have been informed of the tragedy, he added.

The SHO further said that no suicide note was recovered from the PG room and the reason behind this extreme step by the youth is yet to be ascertained.

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Kota:

The Kota district administration has claimed that there has been a 50 per cent decline in the number of suicides by students this year as compared to 2023 in this coaching hub of Rajasthan known for preparing students for IIT-JEE entrance tests.

However, no specific breakdown of the numbers has been provided by the officials.

“In comparison to last year, the suicide rate among coaching students has decreased by 50 per cent this year, which is a significant figure in terms of the efforts yielding results. We expect this trend to continue in the future,” Kota Collector Ravindra Goswami told PTI in a brief interview.

Kota witnessed 17 cases of suicides by coaching students in 2024, compared to 26 such cases in 2023, as per reports.

According to Goswami, the decline in suicide cases can be attributed to strict compliance with guidelines for coaching institutes and hostels under the vigilance of the district administration.

Other measures, such as gate-keeper training for hostel wardens based on WHO norms and the implementation of SOS Help services, have also contributed to the reduction in suicide cases.

Regular interactive sessions with coaching students through events like ‘Dinner with Collector’ and ‘Samwad,’ as well as the deployment of the Kalika Squad for women’s safety and the safety of girl aspirants, have played a role in this change, Goswami added.

The district collector said he interacted with over 25,000 coaching students this year through events like ‘Dinner with Collector’ and ‘Samwad,’ where he addressed their concerns.

However, industry stakeholders have pointed out that business has slowed down for coaching centres and hostels in Kota following negative publicity over student suicides, new guidelines regulating coaching centres, and the expansion of coaching brands to other cities.

The number of students in Kota has fallen to 85,000 to 1 lakh this year, down from the usual 2-2.5 lakh, leading to a reduction in annual revenues — from Rs 6,500-7,000 crore to Rs 3,500 crore, they said.

Goswami also mentioned the launch of a programme called ‘Kota Cares’, which reaffirms the commitment to the well-being and safety of coaching students.

The three-day Kota Mahotsav, which concluded on Wednesday, aimed at offering entertainment while showcasing Kota as a tourist city with a rich cultural heritage, he said.

Goswami emphasised that the ‘Kota Cares’ programme highlights that the city has offered coaching to over one crore students from across the country, playing a significant role in their lives, regardless of the careers they pursue.

The programme also involves inviting Kota alumni — former students who have studied in the city — to interact with the current aspirants and reassure them that the city now offers better facilities and an improved environment, he said.

Meanwhile, Goswami has written to the parents of coaching students, extending his New Year greetings and reaffirming Kota’s commitment to the overall development and safety of their children.

“I assure you that Kota is fully committed to the overall development and safety of students,” he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Kota, Rajasthan:

A 16-year-old boy from Bihar preparing for IIT-JEE was found hanging from the ceiling fan of his hostel room in the Vigyan Nagar police station area of Kota city on Friday, officials said.

The incident occurred despite the fan in hostel room being equipped with anti-hanging device meant to prevent suicide. Police suspected it to be a case of suicide, however, no suicide note was recovered from the room and the reason behind the extreme step by the minor is yet to be ascertained.

A 16-year-old boy studying in class 11th and hailing from the Vaishali district in Bihar had been preparing for IIT-JEE in a coaching institute since April this year in Kota, Circle Inspector at the Vigyan Nagar police station Mukesh Meena said.

The boy was found hanging from the ceiling fan in his hostel room on Friday, he added.

It is the 17th case of suicide by coaching students in Kota this year since January. The city witnessed 26 cases of suicide by coaching students in 2023.

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Kota:

A couple allegedly killed their two minor sons before hanging themselves in Rajasthan’s Jhalawar district on Tuesday, police said.

The incident took place in Jaitkhedi village, under the Gangdhar police station area, they said.

Nagu Singh (30), Santoshbai (23) and their son Yuvraj Singh (5) were found hanging at their home, while their one-year-old son, whose name is not ascertained, was found lying dead on the bed, police said.

The older son was hanged to death, the younger son was strangled, said Jhalwar SP Richa Tomar.

Family dispute is prima facie believed to be the cause of the incident, Tomar said.

The incident came to light when the children’s aunt visited their home on Tuesday morning and found all four family members dead. She immediately informed other relatives and neighbours, who rushed them to a hospital in Chaumahla, where doctors declared them brought dead, the SP added.

Nagu Singh was a farmer, while his father, a truck driver, was away from home at the time of the tragedy, she said.

The procedure for the autopsy of the four bodies is underway. Based on the family’s statement, a case will be registered accordingly after the bodies are handed over for last rites, polcie said.

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Kota, Rajasthan:

An IIT aspirant named Kushagra Rastogi (18) from Uttar Pradesh died under mysterious conditions in Kota on Monday.

Rastogi was found in an unconscious state in the bathroom and was rushed to the hospital where he died during treatment.

As per Jawahar Nagar police station SHO Hari Narayan Sharma, “The student came to Kota in April this year to pursue his coaching. He was staying in a hostel in the Old Rajeev Gandhi Nagar area.”

His mother came to Kota two days back and was staying with him.

On Monday morning, Rastogi went to the washroom to take bath. However, when he did not return after 10-15 minutes, his mother called him. Finding no response, she went check and found the bathroom door open. She found her son lying in an unconscious inside and rushed him to the hospital with the help of the hostel staff.

The exact cause of student’s death is still unknown. The body has been moved to a mortuary.

Mr Sharma told IANS that the postmortem will be conducted after his father arrives in Kota on Tuesday.

“We are waiting for his father to come. His mother has not been informed about her son’s death yet because she is alone in the city with no other family member present,” Mr Sharma said.

When asked about the cause of death, the SHO said that even the doctors are still clueless as to how the teenager died.

“We will get clarity on the matter after the post-mortem on Tuesday,” he added.

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Jaipur:

A JEE aspirant, Sandeep Kumar, died by suicide in Rajasthan’s Kota, confirmed officials, adding that his body was found hanging in his room today.

Other students living in the PG saw the body from the window and promptly informed the owner.

On receiving the information, the police reached the spot and broke open the door.

The student was a resident of Nalanda (Bihar). Police officials said that Sandeep Kumar was preparing for JEE and had been staying in Kota for the last two years.

He hanged himself from the fan in his room late Wednesday night, said officials.

The body has been kept in the mortuary of New Medical College Hospital.

It has come to light that his uncle had deposited money in his account a day before.

Sandeep’s parents had died four years ago and his uncle was bearing the expenses of his studies. He was the one who got him (Sandeep) admitted to the Kota institute, said officials, adding that further probe was on.
 

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Jaipur:

A 17-year-old youth preparing for IIT-JEE competitive exam died by suicide by hanging himself at his room in Rajasthan’s Kota city, police said on Sunday.

Ayush Jaiswal, a resident of Bihar’s Motihari, was staying at a paying guest house near Samrat Chowk of Mahaveer Nagar area for two years to prepare for the competitive exam.

His friends informed the paying guest house owner when he did not come out of his room till Saturday night, police said.

“A boy preparing for competitive exam died by suicide on Saturday night. He was found hanging in his room. No suicide note has been recovered yet. The post-mortem will be conduct after his family members arrive here,” said Mahaveer Nagar SHO Mahendra Maru.

He said that the paying guest house owner informed the police when the student did not open the door.

On receiving information, a team reached the spot and broke the door lock and found the student hanging. The police brought him down and took him to the New Medical College Hospital, where the doctors declared him dead.

This is the 11th suicide committed by any student preparing for a competitive exam in education hub Kota this year so far.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)