CHENNAI: A 21-year-old student who was preparing for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for the fourth consecutive time died by suicide at her home in Urapakkam, around 40 km south of Chennai, on Friday evening, police said.
Police identified the deceased as S Devadarshini, who had cleared her Class 12 exam in 2021.
According to police, Devadarshini was passionate about becoming a doctor. She had taken the NEET three times earlier but failed to clear the cut-off. Unlike some of her peers, she did not enrol in any other professional course, focusing on achieving her goal of becoming a doctor for the last three years.
A police officer said her parents encouraged her to give one last attempt in May this year and she was undergoing coaching, initially in virtual mode and recently at a private coaching centre in Anna Nagar.
Her parents, Selvaraj and Devi run a bakery about 500 metres from their home.
On Thursday, she looked a bit dejected when she returned home from coaching centre, following which her parents tried to cheer her up. On Friday, while she was assisting her father in the bakery, she excused herself to go home on the pretext of using the washroom.
As time passed, she did not return. Selvaraj got worried and tried calling her, but to no avail. He asked his wife to go home and check on Devadarshini. Devi went home and found her daughter dead in her room.
The family called the 108 ambulance service, whose team rushed to the spot and declared her dead.
Cops from the Kilambakkam police station came to the house and launched an investigation after registering a case.
The body was sent to Chromepet General Hospital for postmortem.
Meanwhile, expressing shock over the death of the girl student, AIADMK general secretary and Leader of Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami blamed the DMK for NEET’s introduction as it was a constituent of the Congress-led UPA at the centre.
Palaniswami, in a social media post, slammed the DMK for “laying the foundation for shattering the dreams” of Tamil Nadu students to study medicine, and he asked: “For the DMK, which deceived (the people) by spreading a blatant lie that there will not be NEET in Tamil Nadu if it assumes office in the state, does not the continuing NEET deaths prick its conscience?”
The former chief minister named as many as 19 students, and alleged they had ended their lives, between September 2021 and March 2025, due to fears over clearing NEET. “What is the answer from Chief Minister M K Stalin for the 19 lives lost?” Palaniswami asked. He also appealed to the students to remain positive and work towards success.
In a separate statement, PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss also urged the government to take steps to scrap NEET and demanded a compensation of Rs 25 lakh for the girl’s family.
(If you are having suicidal thoughts, or are worried about a friend or need emotional support, someone is always there to listen. Call Sneha Foundation - 04424640050, Tele Manas - 14416 (available 24x7) or iCall, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences' helpline - 02225521111, which is available Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm.)