ARIYALUR: The parents of medical seat aspirant S Anitha who committed suicide a couple of days ago, on Sunday reportedly refused to accept `7 lakh as compensation from the State government.
District Collector G Lakshmipriya visited Anitha’s family for the third consecutive day to convey her condolences. She tried to hand over the cheque from the government announced by Chief Minister ‘Edappadi’ K Palaniswami. The chief minister also offered a government job to a member of Anitha’s family.
However, they have reportedly refused to accept the amount and vowed not to take any benefit from the government until the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test or NEET is scrapped in total.
Sendurai inspector K Karunanidhi said, “The Collector tried to convince Anitha’s family that it is not in her hands to ban NEET and again tried to persuade them into accepting the solatium. But the family was firm in their decision.”
Anitha is survived by her father T Shanmugham, her stepmother Vasuki, her four older brothers and paternal grandmother. Kuzhumur villagers gathered outside Anitha’s house to stand in solidarity with her family during the Collector’s visit.
Except Kuzhumur, the rest of Ariyalur district returned to normalcy a day after Anitha was laid to rest on Saturday. Shops were open in major commercial areas of Ariyalur and essential service remained unaffected on the weekend. By taking her fight against NEET right up to the Supreme Court, Anitha became the face of the struggle against the common entrance exam.