Chhattisgarh’s exam season tragedy: 4 preparing for boards die by suicide in 2 days

Raipur: As class 12 board examinations began in Chhattisgarh on Friday, and class examinations set to begin on Saturday, police, academia and parents are left grappling with a disconcerting question – is exam stress take a heavy toll on students? With four students – all of whom were preparing for the examinations – dying by suicide in separate incidents across the state in just two days, police said the primary focus of their investigation was on possible exam stress.Those who died by suicide include three boys and one girl. Suicide note was found in just one of the four cases – all of which took place on Wednesday and Thursday -- but it did not specify the reason. Chhattisgarh's Korba district emerged as the hotspot with three deaths by suicide reported from the district, the fourth was reported from Janjgir-Champa district. Police said they are examining possible stress factors, family circumstances and personal issues in each case. Police said inquiries are ongoing and post-mortem examinations have been completed. The brother of a 17-year-old class 10 student of a private school in Korba district told police his sister was preparing for her board examinations. In another area of the district, a 17-year-old boy -- a class 12 commerce student -- died by suicide after he did not turn up for a physical education examination, which took place on Thursday. Neighbours said he had kept the door of his room locked and there was loud music emanating from his room for a long period of time. It was only after they got a window opened that they realised he had died by suicide. Korba city SP Prateek Chaturvedi said a suicide note written in English was recovered, in which the student expressed a wish that his body be donated to a medical college after his death. Another 17-year-old boy also died by suicide in the same area. The fifth case was reported from Janjgir-Champa district, where an 18-year-old boy, a class 12 student, also died by suicide. Police in Korba and Janjgir-Champa said each case is being investigated separately, including verification of family statements, digital trails, and any signs of academic or personal pressure. Though not a candidate for board examinations, a 16-year-old class 9 girl died by suicide in Korba district on Thursday. Sources said she was probably under stress as her studies were affected by her mother's illness. Board exam student dies in accident In Surguja district, two friends riding a motorcycle to appear for their class 12 board examination met with an accident on Friday after their bike went out of control and collided with another motorcycle ahead. The pillion rider was thrown nearly 12 feet into the air and died on the spot. The students were supposed to reach the exam centre by 9am. The centre was about 5km from the accident site, and they were already running late. Police said the crash occurred barely 10 minutes before they were due to reach the examination centre.