In recent years, India’s coaching hub Kota has been infamous as a hotbed of suicides by students thrust to the edge by severe pressures to make a mark in competitive examinations. Now, the crushing pressure that has driven dozens of young students to suicide has ostensibly led to a brutal murder hundreds of kilometres away.
A 20-year-old, who returned home after dropping out from a Kota institute last August, bludgeoned his parents with an iron rod earlier this week, killing his mother and severely injuring his father, police said on Wednesday.
The man, Satyam Katre, attacked his mother Pratibha and father Kishore, ostensibly after the latter stopped him from using his mobile phone on Monday evening, said police officers involved in the case. Katre has been arrested, booked for murder and attempted murder, and Kishore is being treated for severe injuries at a hospital in Gondia district.
A senior police officer involved in the probe said Satyam told investigators he attacked his parents because he was unable to cope with the pressure of clearing NEET, a medical entrance exam that around 2.3 million students sit for every year but only 1.3 million clear.
Students from around the country swarm to Kota, the centre of India’s test-prep business, estimated to be worth ₹10,000 crore annually, and register in residential institutes. Several students find the grind stressful, compounded by spending time away from their families and friends, with access to recreation severely limited.
According to police data, 20 students died by suicide in Kota in 2023, 15 in 2022, 18 in 2019, 20 in 2018, seven in 2017, 17 in 2016, and 18 in 2015. Amid swirling criticism of the methods deployed by coaching centres in the small town, local officials and the state government have stepped up efforts to curb suicides, but have only had limited success.
Abhishek Chaudhary, subdivisional officer of police of Waraseoni in Balaghat, said Satyam told investigators “his parents used to repeatedly scold him for not preparing for NEET as they wanted him to become a doctor”.
His father stopped him from using his phone on Monday night, said police. “Satyam got furious and attacked his parents with an iron rod and left them bleeding. Both of them had serious injuries on their heads and faces,” said Chaudhary.
Satyam informed police about the incident himself, said officers. The two were rushed to a local hospital in Waraseoni from where they were referred to Gondia.
“Pratibha Katre died in the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday and the father remains critical,” he added.
“They sent Satyam to Kota last year, but he returned after spending a few months there. Satyam said he didn’t want to become a doctor,” said Chaudhary.
The man’s uncle, Arvind Katre, said Satyam was a “changed person” after returning from Kota last year.
“He was under huge pressure and seemed downcast too,” he said.