Can Pradhan's resignation bring our children back, families of NEET victims ask

Published 26 July 2026 · india

The resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan may have brought a political breakthrough for the student agitation at Jantar Mantar, but for the families who

The resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan may have brought a political breakthrough for the student agitation at Jantar Mantar, but for the families who lost their children amid the NEET controversy, the question remains painfully unchanged: what does a minister’s resignation do for a child who is no longer alive? “Dharmendra Pradhan has resigned, but that will not bring our daughter back,” said Neelam Chaturvedi, whose 18-year-old daughter Akanksha, also known as Sneha, died by suicide after the NEET-UG paper leak controversy. Read Full Story Across Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, families of students who had dreamed of becoming doctors are still dealing with a grief that has not eased with the end of the agitation or the resignation of the minister. For them, the political developments have brought no closure. ‘WHAT WILL HAPPEN WITH THE RESIGNATION?’ Akanksha Chaturvedi, from Mauganj district in Madhya Pradesh, was preparing for NEET-UG in Nagpur. Her family expected her to score around 650 marks, but the controversy surrounding the examination and the uncertainty that followed left her under deep mental stress. Her family says she left behind a note expressing that she did not have the courage to appear for the examination again. Akanksha’s father, Krishna Kumar Chaturvedi, is a small farmer. To help his daughter pursue her dream of becoming a doctor, the family borrowed money, sold land and jewellery and even took up catering work to manage expenses in Nagpur. After Akanksha’s death, her father suffered a brain haemorrhage and became paralysed. He has been undergoing treatment for a long time. Her mother Neelam told ANI that the family was not satisfied with Pradhan’s resignation. “My daughter won’t come back. We are not satisfied with anything. The government did not come to meet us. What will happen with the resignation? Our daughter should get compensation; we are not satisfied with the resignation. Our demand is that our daughter should get justice and compensation, and the perpetrators should be hanged,” she said. She also questioned the loss suffered by the family after it had sold land to support Akanksha’s dream. “We had to sell our land; will it come back?” she asked. Her demand went beyond the resignation of one minister. “Dharmendra Pradhan stepped down; Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah should also step down,” she said. Her husband said he could see nothing beyond the loss of his daughter. “I don’t see anything beyond my daughter. Our daughter wanted to be a doctor and serve the country,” Krishna Kumar Chaturvedi said. ‘SHE STOPPED TALKING AND EATING’ In Khargone, Madhya Pradesh, the family of 23-year-old Avantika Maurya is still struggling to come to terms with her death. Avantika was living with her elder sister in Indore and had been preparing for NEET for around three years.