Kota, Jan 22 (PTI): A medical aspirant from Gujarat and an Assam native taking coaching for JEE committed suicide by hanging in Kota within two hours on Wednesday, police said.

With their deaths, the coaching hub has witnessed six such cases in the first 22 days of the year.

NEET aspirant Ashfa Sheikh, a native of Gujarat’s Ahmedabad, ended her life by hanging herself in her paying guest room in the Jawahar Nagar area at around 10 am, police said.

The 24-year-old woman had taken the medical entrance exam a few times before but could not clear it. She used to take coaching but was currently self-studying, Jawahar Nagar Circle Inspector Ramlaxman said.

No suicide note was recovered from her room and the reason behind the extreme step is yet to be ascertained, he added.          

As the Jawahar Nagar police were probing Sheikh’s case, just two hours later the Mahaveer Nagar police received information about another student's suicide. 

At around noon, an 18-year-old JEE aspirant from Assam’s Guwahati committed suicide by hanging himself from an iron angle in his hostel room in the Mahaveer Nagar area, the police said. 

As per the district administration's guidelines, the hostel authority installed an ‘anti-suicide’ device in the rooms. However, the boy hanged himself to death from an iron angle, the officer said.

The boy was scheduled to take the JEE-Mains exam next week and his mother was on her way to Kota to take care of him but the boy took the extreme step hours before she arrived here, the inspector said.

No suicide note was recovered from his hostel room, he added.

His mother is devastated. The police are waiting for the boy’s uncle to come here from Delhi and the post-mortem will be conducted after that, the officer said.

Both the bodies have been placed in mortuary.

Earlier, four JEE aspirants committed suicide in Kota. 

On January 18, 16-year-old Manan Jain hanged himself at his parents house in Kota’s Bundi. On January 16, Abhijeet Giri from Odisha hanged himself to a ceiling fan in his hostel room in Ambedkar colony.

On January 8, 20-year-old Madhya Pradesh native Abhishek hanged himself from a ceiling fan in his PG room. On January 7, Neeraj from Haryana hanged himself from the hook of a ceiling fan at his hostel room. 

The city, a prominent hub for coaching institutes, saw 17 such cases in 2024.

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Pune, Feb 10 (PTI): Amidst high drama, former Maharashtra minister Tanaji Sawant’s son Rishiraj was brought back to Pune along with two friends on late Monday evening, cutting short their trip to Bangkok, hours after police filed a kidnapping case, officials said.

According to Ranjan Kumar Sharma, joint commissioner of police, Rishiraj Sawant (32) and his two friends had booked a chartered plane for Bangkok without informing his family, but an anonymous phone call spoilt their travel plans.

After police registered a kidnapping case following the anonymous call made to the control room, his whereabouts were traced and he was brought back to Pune along with his friends, he said at a hurriedly convened press conference.

"Our police control room received a call around 4 pm in which an anonymous caller informed us that Rishiraj was taken away by some unidentified people. Accordingly, we swung into action and registered a kidnapping offence.

"During the probe, it was revealed Rishiraj along with his two friends had booked a chartered plane for Bangkok. We tracked the flight and contacted the airline for the aircraft's return. The flight has now returned to Pune with three passengers, including Rishiraj," informed Sharma.

"We will enquire and find out the purpose of his trip to Bangkok and why he did not inform the family about his travel plans," the police officer said.

While replying to a question, Tanaji Sawant, who was present at the police briefing, denied any dispute with his son.

According to police sources, the flight to the Thailand capital was booked for Rs 78 lakh.

The former minister said he contacted police after coming to know his son had left for the airport with friends without informing the family.

A week ago, Rishiraj Sawant had gone to Dubai, but this trip was known to family members, said the senior politician.

Asked about the police machinery going into an overdrive to trace his son and bring him back, the former minister maintained was worried as a father.

Joint commissioner of police Sharma said the anonymous call indicated Rishiraj Sawant was taken away by unidentified people and on that basis, an FIR of kidnapping was registered.

The IPS officer opined that in such cases, things do not proceed unless an FIR is registered and that is why police moved quickly and filed an offence.