'How can we stay?' Kota suicide victim's sister, cousin to quit coaching class

A sister and cousin of a NEET aspirant, one of the two students who died by suicide in Kota on Sunday, 27 August, have decided to quit their own studies at the coaching hub and return home.

"We played together since childhood, studied together... how is it possible for us to stay here and study after this incident?" asked the cousin of Adarsh Raj, who ended his life on Sunday, the same day as a 17-year-old student also took his life.

The bodies of the two students have been handed over to their families, the police said on Monday.

Kota in Rajasthan has long built its reputation as the home of high-pressure coaching institutes which prepare students for some of India's toughest competitive exams.

Raj's uncle, who reached Kota on Monday morning to receive the body, did not hold anyone responsible for the death of his nephew.

"He (Adarsh) was with his sister and cousin, and still this happened. It was the will of God," the uncle said, speaking to the media in Kota on Monday.

The body of Raj (18), a native of Rohtas in Bihar, was handed over to his family after a post mortem by a medical board on Monday morning, the police said.

Similarly, the body of the second student, a native of Ahmed Nagar in Latur district of Maharashtra, was handed over to his maternal grandmother late on Sunday night, said Vigyan Nagar circle officer Dharmveer Singh.

The 17-year-old jumped to his death from the sixth floor of his coaching institute's building in Jawahar Nagar at around 3.15 pm, minutes after walking out of a room on the third floor of the institute after taking a test, police said.

Nearly four hours later, Adarsh, who was also preparing for a competitive exam, hanged himself in his rented flat under the Kunhadi police station limits at around 7.00 pm, they said.

Police have lodged separate cases of unnatural death under Section 174 of the CrPC for investigation in the matter, Kunhadi police station SHO Ganga Sahay said.