An 18-year-old student preparing for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself from a ceiling fan at a private hostel in Rajasthan’s Sikar district, police said on Sunday.

The incident took place on Saturday.

Nitin Faujdar, a resident of Nadbai town in Bharatpur district, had come to Sikar in June to prepare for NEET. He was preparing at a coaching centre and skipped his class on Saturday, said Surendra Degra, the station house officer of Udhyog Nagar police station.

When Faujdar’s roommate found the room locked from inside, he opened a window and saw his body hanging from the ceiling fan, the SHO said.

This is the second case of student suicide in Sikar in three days.

On September 5, a 16-year-old NEET aspirant, Kaushal Meena, had committed suicide by hanging himself in his hostel room.

In Rajasthan’s Kota, 23 students have committed suicide so far this year — the highest ever for the country’s coaching hub. Last year, the figure stood at 15.

Over two lakh students move to Kota annually to prepare for competitive exams such as the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) for engineering and NEET for admission to medical colleges.