3 min readNew DelhiMay 16, 2026 05:41 AM IST
First published on: May 16, 2026 at 05:41 AM IST
Third time lucky. She had told her family that she finally felt hopeful that this year, she would clear the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate) after two failed attempts.
After failing to clear the exam by four marks last year, a 20-year-old aspirant from Lal Bagh in North Delhi’s Azadpur had returned from this year’s exam on May 3 feeling confident about her performance. But soon after, the National Testing Agency would cancel the examination over an alleged paper leak and announce a re-test on June 21. And she would have to appear for the exam a fourth time.
On Thursday afternoon, the woman was found hanging inside her room at her home in Azadpur’s Lal Bagh in a suspected case of suicide.
The incident came to light when the police found her family at Kewal Park Shamshan Ghat after receiving a PCR call alleging that they were attempting to cremate the body without informing authorities.
According to the woman’s relatives, the woman had been preparing for NEET for the last three years. “Last year, she missed by just four marks. Her father had pinned all his hopes on her,” said her maternal aunt.
The woman lived with her parents, twin sister and two brothers in Lal Bagh – a dense cluster of shanties, temporary shops and tangled overhead wires. Located opposite an Atal Canteen, a 3-ft wide lane, hardly wide enough for two people to walk side by side, leads to the family’s two-room home through a steep staircase. Her father works as a cab driver, relatives said.
“She was a little stressed for the last few days… her mother had told me. It was because she wanted to get admitted to a medical college for years now,” the uncle told mediapersons.
At the time of the incident, the woman’s parents were not at home. “I came home yesterday evening, and that’s when I got to what had happened,” he added.
According to police, the woman was at home with her twin sister on Thursday afternoon. “No one else was at home. She and her sister ate lunch together, after which the woman went inside her room. Her sister knew she had been tense for some time and thus, went to check on her. When she opened the door of the room, she found her hanging,” said an officer.
The sister then informed the parents and the family took her to the cremation ground at about 7 pm.
The officer said that a PCR call was received after the body reached the crematorium. “Family members, unaware of legal procedures to be followed after a death, took the body to the cremation ground instead of informing the police,” the officer added.
After the body was taken into police custody, it was shifted to BJRM Hospital mortuary for a post-mortem examination.Alok Singh
The stairs leading to the woman’s house. (Photo: Amit Mehra) 
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