Body of Kota coaching student missing for 9 days found in Chambal Valley

Rachit Sondhiya, from Madhya Pradesh, was studying at Kota

Jaipur:

The body of a 16-year-old IIT JEE aspirant has been recovered from Rajasthan’s Chambal Valley after a week-long intensive search, police said on Monday. This is the fifth student death this year.

Rachit Sondhia, from Madhya Pradesh, was studying in Kota, a coaching center that attracts students from all over India.

The student, missing since February 11, was last seen in security camera footage entering the forest area near Garadia Mahadev Temple. He left his hostel on the pretext of exams.

A search operation by the State Disaster Response Force led by sniffer dogs and drones yielded no results till this evening, when the teen’s body was spotted at an isolated and inaccessible location in the Chambal valley.

Police suspect that the student may have jumped from the hill into the valley below.

Earlier, his parents had circulated posters urging the public to help find their son.

The rise in student suicides prompted the Center to issue guidelines aimed at reducing the pressure on coaching students. Instructions were issued to coaching institutes and district administration to protect students from depression and stress.

As per the new guidelines announced by the Education Ministry, coaching centers cannot enroll students below 16 years of age and the admission process will be allowed only after successful completion of secondary school examination.

Kota has a floating population of around two lakh students, some of them alone and vulnerable, away from home for the first time.