‘I’ll study harder’: NEET dream ends in horror as man kills daughter over exam scores

In a chilling reminder of the mounting pressure on students chasing medical dreams, a 16-year-old girl in Maharashtra’s Sangli district was allegedly beaten to death by her father — a schoolteacher — after scoring poorly in a pre-NEET test.

The victim, Sadhana Bhosle, a Class 12 student preparing for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), had returned home from her hostel on June 18. Two days later, on the night of June 20, she was assaulted by her father Dhondiram Bhagwan Bhosle, 48, who allegedly flew into a rage after learning about her low test grades.

According to the FIR lodged by her mother, Priti Bhosle, the assault took place in their living room while she and their son Digvijay were upstairs. “We rushed down when we heard shouting. He was beating Sadhana with the thick wooden handle of a stone grinder,” Priti told the police.

In her final moments, Sadhana is said to have cried out, “I will study better next time. Please give me one last chance.” But the beating continued. The father allegedly kept shouting that she had failed despite the money spent on her education.

She collapsed during the assault. The family rushed her to a private hospital in Atpadi, but she died the next morning. The autopsy revealed multiple internal injuries that led to her death.

Police arrested Bhosle under charges of murder and cruelty under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Juvenile Justice Act. He was remanded to police custody and is now in judicial custody.

Sadhana, who studied at Khebudkar College and had lived in a hostel for the last three years, was seen as a determined student. According to police, she had performed well in earlier exams. The test she scored poorly in was an internal preparatory assessment — not even the final NEET itself.

The tragedy has sparked outrage across the state, reigniting debate over academic pressure, parental expectations, and the crushing toll competitive exams are taking on young lives.