Indore, Jun 19 (PTI) A 21-year-old female student, who had been preparing for NEET-UG for the last three years, allegedly ended her life by jumping from a multi-storey building in Indore, police said on Friday.
The incident took place on Thursday night and the victim died during treatment on Friday morning, just two days before NEET-UG re-test.
The victim’s doctor father claimed that his daughter had been suffering from depression since the last five months and committed suicide due to depression.
Bhanwarkuan police station in-charge Santosh Dudhi told PTI that the victim, Avantika Maurya, died after falling from a multi-storey building on Thursday night.
The student, who originally hailed from Dhar district, lived in a rented house in the building where the incident took place, he said.
“The student went to the rooftop while talking on her mobile phone around 11 pm on Thursday and suddenly fell down. Hearing the sound, people present there took her to a nearby hospital. She died during treatment on Friday morning,” Dudhi said.
The station house officer said that a post-mortem was conducted, and her death is being investigated from all angles including that of suicide.
“The incident is also being investigated based on the student’s mobile phone and call details. It will be determined who she was talking to and what she was talking about during her final moments. A conclusion will be reached after a detailed investigation,” he added.
According to Dudhi, the student’s family members say that she had not told them any specific reason for her mental distress.
“We will examine the call details of the student’s mobile phone and also question witnesses to find out what stress led her to commit suicide,” he said.
The student’s family members said that she wanted to become a doctor and was allegedly under stress due to not being able to clear the NEET-UG exam for the last three years.
When asked about this, the police station in-charge said, “This has not come to light in our investigation yet. We will verify this by interviewing the student’s family and then arrive at a decision.” Avantika’s father, Dr Bansingh Maurya, who is posted as a medical officer at a government health centre in neighbouring Khargone district, said he was in Indore for the last five days for departmental training, and was staying with his daughter at her house.
According to the father of the NEET student, his daughter, who had been preparing for the exam for the last three years, was living on the first floor of the building, but on Thursday night she probably fell from the third floor.
He said that on hearing the calls of passersby, he immediately reached the spot and took his injured daughter to the hospital where she died during treatment.
The father of the NEET student claimed that his daughter committed suicide due to depression.
However, he did not give a clear answer to the specific question of the media whether she was depressed due to the cancellation of NEET-UG exam.
Maurya said, “My daughter had been depressed for about five months. She preferred to be alone. She had also become irritable.” Meanwhile, state Congress president Jitu Patwari said in a statement, “The news of suicide by Avantika Maurya, a student preparing for NEET in Indore, is extremely saddening and disturbing.” He targeted the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the NEET question paper leak, and alleged that it was a murder committed by the BJP’s corrupt system.
The state Congress president also demanded the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
The NEET-UG exam for admission to medical courses was held on May 3 but was cancelled on May 12 due to allegations of question paper leak. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is investigating the matter. The NEET re-examination is scheduled for June 21. PTI HWP NP
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