'20 Students Died By Suicide In 8 Months In Kota': Rajasthan CM Expresses Concerns, Shares Own Struggles

Ashok Gehlot expressed his concern about the recent suicides of 20 students in the city known for its coaching centres in the last eight months.

File Photo Of Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot raised the issue of student suicides in Kota during the inauguration ceremony of the state-level 'Yuva Mahapanchayat' on Saturday. He expressed his concern about the recent suicides of 20 students in the city known for its coaching centres in the last eight months. Drawing on his own experiences, Gehlot described how, as a child, he aspired to be a doctor and spent late nights studying, but eventually chose a different path that led him to become a social worker and politician.

"It is a matter of concern that 20 students committed suicide in the last eight months in Kota. I myself wanted to become a doctor in my childhood, used to study till 2-3 in the night, but did not succeed. However, I did not lose courage. I changed my path, became a social worker, entered politics and today I am in front of you," he is heard saying in a video posted by news agency ANI. 

"I became a minister, worked in the Centre, and was Chief Minister three times. Children's families must also understand that they should not put pressure on their children. Let them be whatever they want to be," he added. 

His remarks come in the wake of another tragic incident, where a 17-year-old JEE aspirant, Manish Prajapat, allegedly hanged himself in his hostel room. This marks the third suspected suicide by a student studying in Kota's coaching institutes in the past two weeks.

Prajapat, a resident of Uttar Pradesh's Azamgarh district, had been studying for the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) at a coaching institute in Kota. His father had just visited him and spent five days with him, but tragedy struck shortly after he left. Prajapat's body was discovered hanging from the ceiling fan of his Mahaveer Nagar hostel room, according to a PTI report. 

Authorities believe that academic stress may have contributed to the incident, as Prajapat was reportedly struggling with his studies, the report said. While he had been performing poorly in routine tests and was irregular in classes, no suicide note has been recovered. A comprehensive understanding of the situation awaits the post-mortem report and further inquiry, it said.