Kota, March 31 — An 18-year-old engineering aspirant allegedly ended his life by jumping in front of a moving train in Kota on Sunday, a day before he was set to leave for Lucknow to appear for the JEE-Main exam, police said. This marks the tenth suspected student suicide in the coaching hub this year.
The victim, Ujjawal Mishra from Kanpur, had been preparing for the engineering entrance exam at a coaching institute in Kota for the past two years. He lived in a hostel in Rajiv Gandhi Nagar. According to Deputy Superintendent of Police (GRP-Kota) Shankar Lal, Ujjawal left his hostel around 6:30 pm and reached Kota Railway Station, where he lay down on the tracks as the train approached around 7 pm.
The train pilot informed the Government Railway Police but was unable to stop in time due to high speed. No suicide note was recovered.
Ujjawal’s father, Deepak Kumar Mishra, an agricultural scientist, was scheduled to arrive in Kota on Monday to take his son and his belongings back to Uttar Pradesh. The teenager reportedly told a classmate the night before that he was not well-prepared for the April 2 exam.
His body was handed over to his father after a post-mortem on Monday.
Kota, known for its intense coaching culture, has reported a surge in student suicides. Six coaching students – five JEE and one NEET aspirant – died by suicide in January alone. Last year, 17 students took their lives in the city, while the figure stood at 26 in 2023.
