NEET, JEE aspirants hang themselves in Kota, 6 suicides in Jan
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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Karnataka: GBA city corporation polls likely between June 14 and 24
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka State Election Commissioner G S Sangreshi on Friday said elections to the five city corporations under the GBA will be held anytime between June 14 and June 24.
He said the exact date for the polls will be announced after a week, asserting that the power to postpone the elections, as requested by GBA authorities, lies with the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court had directed the Karnataka government and the State Election Commission to conduct Bengaluru local body elections by June 30.
On Friday, the SEC held a consultation meeting with the GBA Chief Commissioner and commissioners of the five city corporations regarding the election schedule, as per the provisions of the GBA Act.
“During the meeting, I informed GBA officials that only the election date has to be fixed, as all other measures and formalities for conducting the polls have already been completed,” Sangreshi said.
“They requested the Commission to consider factors such as rains, exams, census work, SIR, and manpower shortages while fixing the date and sought additional time,” he added.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, he said, “I told them this meeting was not for seeking time. Elections to the five corporations under the GBA must be held before June 30, as directed by the Supreme Court, and a compliance report must be submitted to the court. I do not have the power to postpone the elections as requested.”
The Supreme Court has already given a “final opportunity,” and both the SEC and the government must comply with its directions, the State Election Commissioner said.
He asked GBA officials to suggest suitable dates between June 14 and June 24.
“While stating that they are ready for elections, the officials highlighted operational challenges, including manpower shortages. However, I have informed them that the elections will have to be held between June 14 and June 24. After a week, I will announce the final date,” he said.
Reiterating that he does not have the power to postpone the elections, Sangreshi said the authority rests with the Supreme Court, and elections must be conducted as scheduled.
“We have consulted the GBA as per the rules. It is up to them to suggest a date within the given window. If they need more time, they must approach the court. Our responsibility is to fix the date and complete the polls before June 30,” he said.
The matter regarding manpower and other concerns raised by GBA officials is already before the Supreme Court, and the State Election Commission has also filed a petition in this regard. The case is yet to be heard.
“Since the matter has not come up for hearing, the earlier order remains binding. Therefore, preparations are underway,” he added.
The tenure of the previous elected body under the erstwhile Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) ended on September 10, 2020, and since then, a government-appointed administrator has been managing its day-to-day affairs.
Bengaluru was divided into five municipal corporations—Central, East, West, North, and South—under the Greater Bengaluru Authority in September 2025, replacing the BBMP.
Sangreshi had earlier said that elections to the five corporations would be conducted using ballot papers instead of Electronic Voting Machines.
This follows the Congress government’s decision last September to recommend the use of ballot papers in all future panchayat and urban local body elections, citing concerns over declining public confidence in EVMs.
The state government subsequently enacted the Karnataka Gram Swaraj and Panchayat Raj (Amendment) Act, 2026, paving the way for the use of ballot papers in local body elections.
