Chennai, May 4 (UNI) Hours before the NEET exams were to begin, an young medical aspirant allegedly committed suicide at her residence at Melmaruvathur in Chengaplattu district out of fear

on Sunday.

Police said the young girl, a student of a private school where her mother was working as a teacher, was scheduled to sit for NEET exam at a centre in Tambaram.

However, a couple of hours before the commencement of the exams, she ended her life.

The incident came to light after her mother came to wake her up to ready her for the exams.

She woke up her husband, whose physical movement was limited due to an injury he had suffered

in an accident, and alerted the police, who rushed her to a hospital where she was declared brought dead.

Though no suicide note was recorded from the spot, Melmaruvathur police have registered a case and are investigating.

Meanwhile, PMK Working President and Rajya Sabha MP Dr Anbumani Ramadoss expressed

shock and grief over an young medical aspirant ending her life just hours before the exams.

He said give medical aspirants have ended their life in two months over fear of clearing the NEET exams, which was made mandatory to get admissions fr UG Medical courses, though the ruling

DMK and all political parties in Tamil Nadu, alarmed over the increasing NEET deaths, had been urging the Centre to exempt the State form NEET in the interests of poor and rural medical aspirants

and allow it to make MBBS admissions based on the marks secured in the Plus-2 Board exams.

In a statement here, he said "Another student fears NEET exam, ends Five people committed suicide in two months...when will the deadly NEET exam end?".

With the NEET exam for medical studies being held across the country, including Tamil Nadu, today,

it is shocking that a student named Kayalvizhi from Melmaruvathur has committed suicide out of fear of being able to pass the exam.

"I express my deepest condolences and sympathies to the family of student Kayalvizhi who is grieving her loss", he said.

After NEET was made mandatory for medical studies in 2017, every year the month before the NEET exam and some periods around the release of the NEET exam results have become suicide seasons, Dr Anbumani also a former Union Minister for Health said.

This year too has not been spared from this cruelty. On March 2, Indumathi near Tindivanam, on March 28, Darshini in Kalamappakkam, Sathya in Edappadi Periyamuthiyampatti on April 3, Shakthi Puklavani in Pudupakam on April 4, and today Kayalvizhi--5 students have committed suicide in two months, he pointed out.

Stating that if the NEET exam is not abolished, the suicides of students cannot be stopped, he said the central and state governments should be held responsible for NEET suicides.

The DMK, which came to power in Tamil Nadu in 2021, promised to cancel the NEET exam, but had not done so except for passing a new Bill and sending it to the central government for its approval, while promising to fight in legally.

He said the NEET exam has neither improved the quality of medical education; nor decreased the commercialization of medical education. On the contrary, both these problems have become more serious, Dr Anbumani said, adding, it was not fair for the Central Government to insist on conducting the NEET exam even after knowing this.

The NEET exam, which has become a life-killer for students, is against the student community. The central government should cancel it.

The state government should also clarify what plan it has for it. Above all, students should understand that suicide is not the solution to the fear of failing the NEET exam, he said and appealed to the medical aspirants to give up such thoughts, he said.

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