'Wish my son was alive to see this': Father of NEET aspirant after Pradhan's resignation

The father of a 21-year-old NEET aspirant who died by suicide following the cancellation of the NEET-UG 2026 examination on Sunday said he wished his son had lived to witness the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, calling it the outcome of weeks of determined protests by students across the country.

Anup Mishra, whose son Ritik died by suicide on 14 May, said the Centre's decision to accept the Cockroach Janta Party's (CJP) demand for compensation to the families of 21 NEET aspirants who took their own lives could never compensate for the family's loss.

"When the alleged paper leak surfaced, Ritik was devastated. It was his third attempt, and the cancellation of the examination shattered him," Mishra said.

He said his son died a day before the authorities announced a re-test.

Speaking over the phone from a hospital in Lucknow, where his wife is undergoing treatment, Mishra said Pradhan's resignation should have come much earlier.

"If he had resigned earlier, the police action against young protesters at Jantar Mantar on 20 July could perhaps have been avoided," he said.

Praising the students who sustained the 37-day agitation, Mishra said their determination compelled the government to act.

"The young generation, through its determination and perseverance, forced the government to reform the education system for future generations. Watching students face police action while peacefully demanding a transparent examination system was heartbreaking," he said.

Reflecting on the movement's outcome, Mishra said it was painful that his son was no longer alive to witness the developments.

"It hurts that my son is not here to see this. But if this movement improves the examination system and prevents other students from falling into depression or families from suffering what we have gone through, it will offer us some consolation," he said.

On the government's assurance of compensation for the families of the 21 students who died by suicide after the NEET controversy, Mishra said no financial assistance could replace his son.

"No amount of money can fill the void left by my son's death or erase the pain, stress and grief our family has endured," he said.

The Centre on Saturday accepted key demands raised by the CJP after weeks of nationwide protests over alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG examination and the CBSE's on-screen marking process. The government announced Pradhan's resignation, the withdrawal of criminal cases against protesters and compensation for the affected families, following which the student organisation called off its agitation.