Dalit girl who took NEET-fight to SC commits suicide: Tamil Nadu CM announces ex-gratia of Rs 7 lakh

Tamil Nadu CM announces ex-gratia of Rs 7 lakh to the family of Dalit girl who allegedly committed suicide on Friday after fighting against NEET-based medical examinations in Supreme Court.

According to reports, Anitha was reportedly upset after she came to know that Tamil Nadu will not be exempted from the ambit of National Entrance-cum-Eligibility Test (NEET).

She was daughter of a daily wage earner, Anitha dreamed of becoming a doctor. She was found hanging at her house in a village in this district, police said. The Dalit girl had approached the apex court last month opposing a plea seeking admissions to under graduate medical courses only on the basis of the NEET score.

#Anitha managed to study in difficult circumstances. She was concerned about NEET. What wrong had she done,who will answer?: Anitha's father pic.twitter.com/7oibWB86Ie

— ANI (@ANI) September 2, 2017

The police said they were investigating the matter. Meanwhile, the residents held a 'road roko' in the village, slamming the AIADMK-led state government for the death of the girl.

"District police superintendent, district collector andother senior officials are present on the spot for coordinating the legalities post the death of the girl," apolice official told PTI. The body has been taken to a government hospital for autopsy, he said.

Tamil Nadu Health Minister C Vijaya baskar told reporters that he was deeply pained by the death of the girl. Education Minister C Sengottaiyan expressed grief and anguish and said steps were being taken to prepare students for any competitive exam. He said such instances must never be repeated.

DMK working president M K Stalin expressed concern over the death of the girl and called the government "inept". "Students are the future of the nation and they should never attempt to do such things," he said while asking the state government to own up responsibility for the death. Various political parties have been cornering the state government for its failure to get exemption from the NEET. Actor Rajinikanth also condoled the death of the teenage girl.

"What has happened to Anitha is extremely unfortunate. Myheart goes out to all the pain and agony she would have undergone before taking the drastic step. My condolences toher family," he said in a tweet.

VCK chief Thol Thirumavalan, a Dalit leader, expressed anguish at the death of the girl and said no student should attempt ending their lives as there were a lot of opportunities to pass examinations. Anitha had scored an impressive 1,176 out of 1,200 marks in class XII board examinations.

In NEET, she did not fair well and missed out on getting a medical seat. Although she could not get admission to MBBS, she had the high score to secure the admission for several other courses, including engineering. She was even reportedly offered a seat in the prestigious state-run Madras Institute of Technology here for aeronautical engineering.

With PTI Input.