Hours after cremating his teenage son, who died by suicide after failing to clear the NEET exam twice in the last two years, photographer Selvasekar hanged himself at their family home in the Chromepet area of Tamil Nadu’s Chennai on Sunday.
A 19-year-old S Jegadeshwaran completed Class XII in 2022. Since then, he had appeared for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate) exam twice, but could not clear it.
Jegadeshwaran allegedly took the extreme step on Saturday afternoon when he was alone at home. When Selvasekar was unable to reach his son on call, he asked the domestic help to check on Jegadeshwaran, who found him hanging in his room.
Their neighbours rushed the boy to a hospital, where he was declared brought dead.
According to his parents, the boy took the extreme step because he was dejected over his inability to clear the examination twice.
Unable to bear his son’s loss, Selvasekar ended his life on Sunday. After returning home following Jegadeshwaran’s last rites, his father hanged himself in the middle of the night, causing great sadness in the area.
Tamil Nadu CM Expresses Grief
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister condoled the demise of Jegadeeswaran and his father, and said, “I was shocked to know that Jegadeeswaran from Chromepet, who was a NEET aspirant, committed suicide. When I was thinking of how to console his parents, the next day his father Selvasekar also died by suicide.”
“I don’t know how to console Jegadeeswaran’s family, friends, and relatives. It is horrible that a bright student who dreamt of becoming a doctor, has now joined the list of NEET suicides,” he added.
The Chief Minister urged to not take the extreme step under any circumstances.
“I am asking all students – no one should lose their life in any situation. We can definitely remove NEET which is an obstacle to your goals. Tamil Nadu Government is working and taking legal steps towards that,” Stalin said.
NEET Politics In Tamil Nadu
NEET is perceived as “anti-poor” and “discriminatory” against students of government schools and from rural backgrounds in Tamil Nadu. Since 2017, over two dozen students have died by suicide due to their failure to clear the exam.
The DMK government in the state passed the NEET (exemption) Bill in 2021 but Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi rejected it in February 2022.
Following this, the legislation was passed once again and sent back to him.
On Saturday, Ravi reiterated that he will never give his assent to the anti-NEET bill, which is now pending before the President.
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