Kota rocked by 5 student suicides in 1 month

While police officials point to a different trigger in each case, they claim that the common underlying factors are rising performance pressure and bouts of homesickness among adolescents.

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Additional Superintendent of Police, Kota, Shantanu Kumar said: “Various reasons were found behind the five suicide cases. In the recent case, there was a love affair and the boy had written a suicide note asking his girlfriend to be informed about his death. In another case, the girl was troubled over a lesbian relationship, while in another case it was homesickness. In another incident, where a father-daughter duo committed suicide in a hotel, financial problems were cited in the suicide note. Only in one case did the student take the drastic step because of academic pressure.”

Police officials, however, added that no case has been closed yet.

In Kota, the rise in the number of suicides corresponds with the growth of the coaching industry. Kumar, who has investigated many such cases in the past, said, “In 2013, around 26 students committed suicide, in 2014 another 14 cases were reported whereas so far this year 11 cases have already come to light. It is noted that from May to July, when the new academic session starts, more cases are reported. The number of dropouts and the instances of children going into depression also increase during this period.”

“Maybe parents have to do more to ensure that the children are well taken care of and they have someone to turn to,” he said.