‘When will accountability be fixed?’: Priyanka Gandhi reacts to UP student’s suicide over NEET-UG cancellation

Lucknow: Congress MP, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, on Friday expressed grief over the alleged suicide of a NEET aspirant in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri district, claiming that recurring irregularities and corruption in competitive examinations resulting in cancellations, were pushing students into severe distress.

Calling the incident “extremely heartbreaking”, Priyanka Gandhi said the death of 22-year-old Ritik Mishra had once again exposed the emotional and psychological burden being faced by lakhs of aspirants and their families, across the country.

“My deepest condolences to Ritik’s grief-stricken parents and family,” she said in a post on X.

According to the family, Ritik had appeared for the NEET-UG examination in Kanpur on May 3 and had returned home optimistic about his performance. However, after the examination was cancelled following allegations of a paper leak, he allegedly fell into deep mental stress and anxiety.

“According to the aggrieved family, Ritik was under severe mental stress due to the cancellation of the NEET exam. The rampant corruption in examinations is claiming the lives of our youth. Every year, the futures of lakhs of students are being ruined,” Priyanka Gandhi said.

She further asked, “When will this chain of events stop? When will accountability be fixed?”

Ritik Mishra allegedly died by suicide on Thursday at his residence in Lakhimpur Kheri. Local authorities are probing the circumstances surrounding the incident.

The National Testing Agency (NTA) cancelled the NEET-UG 2026 examination conducted on May 3 after allegations of a paper leak surfaced from multiple centres. The examination is now scheduled to be reconducted on June 21.

The probe into the paper leak case is currently being handled by the Central Bureau of Investigation, which is investigating the alleged racket, including the manner in which the question paper was leaked and circulated.

So far, the agency has conducted multiple raids across different states and arrested seven individuals in connection with the case.

Meanwhile, the Union Education Minister said on Friday that NEET would transition to a computer-based examination format from next year to make the process more secure and foolproof, amid mounting concerns over repeated exam-related irregularities.

IANS