Two days after the Supreme Court verdict, 19-year-old NEET aspirant from Coimbatore dies by suicide

A day after Supreme Court dismissed a petition seeking postponement of National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) scheduled to be held in September, a 19-year-old Coimbatore girl died by suicide on Tuesday allegedly out of fear of writing the paper. According to the police, the deceased R Subhshri, daughter of an ITI staff from Venkatasamy Road (East) in RS Puram, was preparing for the medical entrance test for the past two years.

Though she appeared for the exam in 2019, she couldn't get the minimum cut-off mark to qualify for the medical admission. Aiming to crack the exam this year, she was preparing hard and got herself enrolled in a private coaching center in the same locality. At around 11.00 am on Tuesday, she went inside her room and locked herself. As the girl didn't come out for over four hours, her parents knocked on the door. After getting no response, her relatives and parents broke open the door. But to their shock, the girl was found hanging in her room.

RS Puram police recovered her body and sent it to Coimbatore Medical College Hospital for post-mortem. The police registered a case under section 174 (police to enquire and report on suicide) of IPC and are investigating the suicide. The National Testing Agency is scheduled to conduct NEET (UG) on September 13. 

The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a petition seeking postponement of NEET and JEE, observing that ‘Career of students cannot be put under jeopardy for long.’

If you're suicidal, here is a list of helpline numbers, apps and pages that can help in the time of need.

AASRA: This Mumbai-based NGO is dedicated to people with suicidal tendencies and battling anxiety and depression. Their 24-hour suicide helpline number is +91-22-27546669

Sneha Foundation: This Chennai-based NGO is also dedicated to supporting individuals who are depressed, distressed, or suicidal. Their 24-hour helpline +91-44-24640050

iCall: Tata Institute of Social Sciences' helpline for the psychologically distressed has a team of mental health professionals helping individuals across various languages and regions. The helpline number (+91-22-25521111) is available Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm.

7 Cups of Tea: This website and app (available on iOS and Android phones) is an online chat platform offering live support to the depressed and anxious.  

The Pink Project: This Mumbai-based mental health intiative, founded by two psychologists, is offering free online counselling during the COVID-19 crisis.  

People Tree Maarga: Bengaluru-based People Tree is offering free telephonic counsellling between 10 am and 11 pm to those stressed or anxious due to COVID-19. The helpline number is 080-46659999

_vibewithvishuddha: This page on Instagram encourages you to talk about your feelings and emotions or just vent out. Just message them a 'hi' and they'll get in touch.