Pune (Maharashtra) [India], September 10 (ANI): A 28-year-old man preparing for competitive examinations for the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) allegedly died by suicide at his rented accommodation in Pune on Wednesday, police said.
The deceased has been identified as Prathamesh Deshmukh, a native of Khasapuri village in Paranda tehsil of Dharashiv district in Maharashtra. Deshmukh had been living in Pune for the past four years and was preparing for competitive examinations, including the MPSC exam.
According to Zone 1 DCP of Pune City Police Krushikesh Rawale, Deshmukh was reportedly under financial pressure and owed around Rs 2.50 lakh to several people. His family was also facing financial difficulties. He left a note mentioning the details of the loans he had taken and paid.
"Police suspect that financial difficulties and not being able to clear exams may have contributed to his mental stress, which could have resulted in an extreme step. A suicide note has been recovered," police said.
Police have registered a case of suicide and are investigating the circumstances surrounding Deshmukh's death.
For the past several days, MPSC aspirants have been protesting in Pune and other parts of Maharashtra, demanding the resignation of the MPSC chairman and secretary following a recent alleged paper leak concerning the examination for the post of Drug Inspector (Group B) under the Food and Drug Administration.
Following the incident, CJP activist Abhijeet Dipke linked his death to the pressure from "exam irregularities, delays, uncertainty and a lack of accountability", stating that students shouldn't suffer due to "failures in an examination system".
"Many students move away from home, survive on limited means and spend what little their families can afford on rent, coaching, books and repeated attempts. When this is compounded by exam irregularities, delays, uncertainty and a lack of accountability, the pressure can become unbearable. For students from financially vulnerable families, every delay is not just another date on the calendar," Dipke posted on X.
"It means more rent, more expenses, more dependence on their families and another year of their lives hanging in uncertainty. Students should not have to pay such a devastating price for failures in an examination system they are expected to trust. How many more students have to suffer before those responsible take accountability? How many lives must be lost before the system finally changes?" he said.
Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) or NCP (SP) leader Rohit Pawar expressed grief over Deshmukh's death and said the government must take serious note of the mounting pressure on students.
"In the past few years, due to various malpractices including paper leaks, a feeling of being sidelined is being created among students who study while nurturing a dream in their hearts, and because of this, their years and years are spent merely in appearing for examinations. On top of that, sometimes due to wet and sometimes dry drought-like conditions, parents are unable to give money to their children for education," he said.
"At such times, lakhs of students come to cities like Pune to study by borrowing money from others or taking loans, but because they are unable to repay this money due to their circumstances, financial stress increases and their self-respect is also hurt. Then, because of this, they adopt a path like suicide, which is extremely unfortunate. The government should take serious note of this, immediately remove corrupt officials from the MPSC and appoint officers with a clean image there, and should also provide substantial financial assistance to the families of students who have committed suicide, for having destroyed their dreams," he added. (ANI)
MPSC aspirant dies by suicide in Pune amid exam row; Rohit Pawar, Dipke seek govt action
