Jaipur, June 16 (IANS) Ahead of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s scheduled visit to Kota on June 17 to launch a protest against a paper leak, a NEET aspirant was found dead in Rajasthan’s education hub of Sikar, highlighting the continuing mental health crisis among competitive exam candidates.

Twenty-two-year-old Umesh Mali, a NEET aspirant preparing for his third attempt at the medical entrance examination, was found hanging in his family’s flat in Sikar on Monday. Police recovered a suicide note from the scene and have launched an investigation.

The incident marks the second reported suicide involving a NEET aspirant in Sikar within the last month.

According to Udyog Nagar SHO Rajesh Kumar Budania, Umesh, a resident of Kari village in Nawalgarh, was living in a private residential complex with his mother, elder sister and younger brother while preparing for the examination. Family members discovered him after returning home in the afternoon. Following a post-mortem examination, the body was handed over to the family. Umesh’s father, Laxmanram Mali, works as a tiles contractor in Mumbai. The family owns the flat where Umesh had been staying for studies.

The NEET re-examination is scheduled for June 21, and this would have been his third attempt. Family members told police that Umesh had returned to Sikar on Monday morning after dropping his mother at their native village.

His death comes barely a month after another NEET aspirant, 23-year-old Pradeep Mahich from Jhunjhunu district, died by suicide in Sikar. Pradeep had been living in rented accommodation and preparing for NEET for the past three years. His family had said he was academically strong and expected to perform well in the examination but had been experiencing emotional distress in the days leading up to his death.

Pradeep’s death had drawn national attention after NSUI national president Vinod Jakhar facilitated a conversation between the bereaved family and Rahul Gandhi. The family later met Gandhi in New Delhi, where he expressed condolences and assured them of support. The latest tragedy comes just ahead of Gandhi’s visit to Kota on June 17.

The Congress leader is scheduled to participate in a programme focused on student suicides and the intense pressures faced by students in the country’s largest coaching hub. The Congress workers said that Rahul Gandhi will spend approximately four and a half hours, from 5:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., among students, engaging in direct dialogue with them. A key feature of the event is that there will be no speeches by political leaders. Rahul Gandhi will interact one-on-one with students to listen to their issues, suggestions, and experiences.

Students preparing for various competitive examinations, including NEET aspirants, have been invited to the event.

With this event, the Congress party is set to launch a nationwide student outreach campaign focusing on issues affecting young people, including alleged irregularities in competitive examinations, the NEET paper leak controversy, and broader concerns related to the education system.

Meanwhile, with another aspirant losing his life on the eve of the visit, the issue of student well-being in Rajasthan’s coaching centres has once again come into sharp focus, raising fresh questions about the effectiveness of existing support mechanisms and the need for systemic reforms, said officials.

–IANS

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