The father of the 19-year-old boy who died by suicide, allegedly after failing to clear the NEET exam twice, died by suicide early Monday morning. The police said that the man must have been depressed by the death of his son.

S Jagadeeswaran, who passed Class 12 from a CBSE school in Pallavaram in 2022. He was unable to clear the entrance in two attempts. On Saturday, he did not respond to calls from his father and was found dead at home.

P Selvasekar (48), a resident of Kurinji Nagar in Chromepet, ran a photo studio in the locality. His son, Jegadeeswaran, was living with him. He had separated from his wife a few years ago.

He allegedly killed himself after he returned home from finishing his son’s cremation rituals, police said.

Chitlapakkam police have registered cases over both their deaths and are conducting inquiries.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin condoled the deaths. “I offer my deepest condolences on the demise of student Jagatheeswaran and his father Selvasekhar (who also allegedly died by suicide). Let their deaths be the last on the altar of NEET,” Stalin said.

“I appeal that no student should ever make a decision to take away their own lives under any circumstances. The NEET, which is a hurdle for your growth, will be scrapped. The state government is actively working on the legal initiative in this direction,” he further said in a statement.