Kota shocker: Three students die by suicide in separate incidents

“The two deceased coaching students have been identified as Ankush Anand, 16, and Ujjwal Kumar, 18. Both were residents of Bihar and stayed in the same private hostel. While Anand was preparing for his pre-medical examination, Ankush was preparing for JEE. One of them was found hanging in his room today around 11:30 am while the other was found in his room in the afternoon, which was locked from inside,” said Vasudev Singh, SHO, Jawahar Nagar police station.

Police said investigation is underway to find out whether the two boys knew each other or if they were friends.

In the third case, a 17-year-old coaching student from Madhya Pradesh died by consuming poison in another part of the city, police said.

“The deceased student has been identified as Pranav Verma, 17, a resident of Shivpuri in Madhya Pradesh. Preliminary investigation suggests that he took the extreme step due to depression. He had recently skipped examinations at his coaching centre. He fell ill after consuming a poisonous substance and later succumbed to his injuries today early morning at the hospital. After postmortem, the body was handed over to his parents,” said Kota second circle officer Shankar Meena.

According to a factual report prepared by the Kota police, empty packets of zinc phosphide were recovered from Pranav’s hostel room and traces of the substance was also found in his food.