india

Updated: Jun 14, 2018 23:57 IST

An 18-year-old student preparing for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) hanged himself on Thursday at the coaching hub of Kota during a video chat with his father who was 670 km away at his home in Barmer, police said.

Karan, who lived as a paying guest, called his father Unmanaram in the morning. The two were talking when Karan, an aspiring doctor, got up and hung himself from a ceiling fan in his room, assistant sub-inspector Attar Singh said. He said no suicide note was found.

His father called up the landlord Devkinandan. “I had to break the door of Karan’s room,” Devkinandan, a policeman, said. He brought Karan down and informed local police. Karan was taken to a government hospital, where he was declared dead.

Every year, around 1,50,000 students flock Kota’s 40-odd institutes to train for medical as well as engineering entrance examinations. This year, at least eight students have killed themselves. Seven students had committed suicide in 2017, while 16 had ended their lives the year before.