In the 46 days between the cancellation of NEET-UG 2026 and the scheduled re-test, at least 11 NEET aspirants across India have reportedly died by suicide, according to police records, family accounts and media reports.
While investigations are ongoing in several cases, grieving families, suicide notes and police statements have repeatedly highlighted the intense pressure associated with the country's largest medical entrance examination.
More than 2.27 million students had appeared for the test across 551 cities before it was scrapped.
Reports of deaths from Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Maharashtra and Karnataka have brought the human toll of the controversy into sharp focus.
A 19-year-old aspirant from Coimbatore, who had scored 96.7 per cent in Class 12, left a suicide note saying she was sorry for being a burden and that it was nobody's fault but her own incompetence.
In Rajasthan's coaching hub of Sikar, a 23-year-old student who had spent three years preparing for the test died by suicide days after the examination was cancelled.
Three separate deaths were reported from Delhi, with police saying no suicide note was recovered in two of the cases.
A 17-year-old aspirant from Lucknow's Aishbagh area allegedly died by suicide after appearing for NEET, with family members saying she had performed well in the examination but became distressed after it was cancelled.
A 23-year-old NEET aspirant in Dehradun allegedly died by suicide while preparing for the re-examination, leaving a note expressing affection for her parents and referring to dissatisfaction with her academic achievements.
A 20-year-old aspirant in Nagpur died by suicide, with her family finding an alleged suicide note in one of her books that claimed the paper leak controversy and cancellation of NEET contributed to her decision.
An 18-year-old girl in Karnataka's Kalaburagi district allegedly died by suicide days after the NEET examination was cancelled, with her father saying she had performed well and maybe had some feelings about writing the exam again.
A 20-year-old aspirant in Lakhimpur Kheri allegedly died by suicide amid concerns over the examination's cancellation, with family members saying he had been preparing for NEET for three years and had rejected alternative courses.
A 17-year-old NEET aspirant allegedly died by suicide on Thursday in Ahmedabad hours before he was scheduled to appear for the NEET-UG re-examination.
