NEET aspirant shoots himself after checking answer key in Bhopal

BHOPAL: An 18-year-old NEET aspirant, who had scored 95% in his class 12 board exams, died by suicide on Tuesday night after checking the answer key to this year's examination. SP Dharmaveer Yadav said the victim, Nikhil Pratap Rathore, had a brilliant academic record and had attempted NEET this year.

When the answer keys were released on Tuesday, his family asked him about his marks. He checked and was disappointed to see a lower score than he expected, say police. Around 8 pm, the family was shocked when a shot rang out in the house. They ran downstairs to find that Nikhil had shot himself with the licenced pistol of his father, a retired Armyman. They rushed him to a nearby hospital where he was declared dead on arrival, said police."He was apparently under stress after checking the answer key. Still, our investigation is covering every angle," the SP told TOI on Wednesday, adding that Maharajpura police have seized the pistol. Family and friends are in utter shock as they all knew Nikhil as a studious, cheerful boy. His father Brijbhan Singh Rathore would drop him off at coaching classes every day. The schoolboy was close to his elder brother, who is pursuing a BTech degree.