TNI Bureau: A 23-year-old NEET aspirant from Rajasthan’s Sikar allegedly died by suicide on Friday, becoming the fourth reported student death following the cancellation of the NEET-UG 2026 examination amid allegations of a massive paper leak.

The deceased, identified as Pradeep Mahich, was found hanging at his rented accommodation in Sikar’s Jaldhari Nagar area. Originally from Jhunjhunu district, he had been preparing for NEET in Sikar for the past three years.

Family members said Pradeep was expecting to score over 650 marks and was confident of securing admission to a government medical college. They alleged that he had been under severe mental stress since the National Testing Agency (NTA) cancelled the examination following the paper leak controversy.

Police said the incident took place on Friday afternoon when Pradeep was alone in the room. He was rushed to SK Hospital, where doctors declared him dead.

The incident comes amid a widening investigation into the alleged NEET-UG 2026 paper leak. A “Guess Paper” allegedly circulated in Rajasthan’s Sikar and Jhunjhunu districts before the May 3 examination reportedly contained several questions matching the actual paper. So far, at least 13 people have reportedly been arrested by the Rajasthan Special Operations Group (SOG) in connection with the case.

Earlier, a 22-year-old NEET aspirant from Uttar Pradesh, a 20-year-old aspirant from Delhi’s Azadpur area, and a 17-year-old student from Goa had also allegedly died by suicide after the examination controversy.

The NEET-UG 2026 examination was cancelled by the NTA following allegations of a nationwide paper leak, sparking uncertainty and distress among medical aspirants across the country.