GUWAHATI: A 19-year-old medical aspirant from Maharashtra’s Ahilyanagar district allegedly died by suicide after reportedly falling short of the qualifying cutoff in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG).
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The deceased has been identified as Ankita Suresh Sangale, a resident of Jalalpur village in Karjat taluka. Police said she left behind a purported suicide note indicating that she was under severe distress over her examination results.
According to police, the incident came to light on the afternoon of July 25, when Ankita’s mother went to check on her at home while her father and brother were away in Pandharpur. She was found hanging, following which the family informed the authorities.
Police have registered an accidental death report and further investigation is underway.
Family members said Ankita appeared for the NEET-UG examination on May 3. They said she later appeared for the NEET-UG re-examination held on June 21 following issues related to the examination process. The National Testing Agency (NTA) declared the retest results on July 16.
According to her family, Ankita secured 166 marks, falling short of her category-specific qualifying cutoff of 177 marks.
The incident comes amid ongoing concerns over transparency and accountability in competitive examinations following the NEET-UG paper leak controversy, which had triggered protests by students across the country.
The incident comes amid continued scrutiny of the NEET-UG examination system following the paper leak controversy, which triggered nationwide protests by students demanding greater transparency and accountability in competitive examinations. The issue also led to the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on July 25.