A 46-year-old man from Tamil Nadu, who accompanied his son to Kerala for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET), died of a heart attack today as the aspiring doctor wrote the examination unaware of his father's death.
Chief Minister K Palaniswami conveyed his condolence to the kin of the deceased and announced a solatium of Rs 3 lakh from the CM's Public Relief Fund.
Krishnasamy had travelled with his son Kasturi Mahalingam to Ernakulam in Kerala, where the student was allotted a centre to appear for NEET-2018.
The father suffered a heart attack this morning when he was in a lodge after seeing off his son at the exam centre.
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Later, Palaniswami announced that the Tamil Nadu government would bear the higher education expenses of Kasturi Mahalingam accepting an appeal from the student's mother.
The chief minister said the appeal was made by Krishnasamy's wife Barathi Mahadevi when he spoke to her over phone and expressed his condolence.
He said he had ordered officials to take appropriate steps to fund the education of the student.
Expressing anguish over the incident, Palaniswami said a team of officials has been rushed to the neighbouring state to bring back the body.
In an official release, he said the deceased was a resident of Vilangudi village in the delta district of Tiruvarur.
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Krishnasamy, who suffered cardiac arrest was admitted to a hospital where he died, Palaniswami said.
As Krishnasamy breathed his last, his son wrote the exam unaware of his father's fate.
"I have sent a team of Tamil Nadu officials to Ernakulam to assist Kasturi Mahalingam to take his father's body home after he completes writing the NEET exam," the chief minister said.
He said Chief Secretary Girija Vaidyanathan has spoken to her Kerala counterpart seeking assistance to bring Krishnasamy's body back to Tamil Nadu.
Ernakulam District Collector Safirullah is taking swift steps to send Krishnasamy's body to his native village in Tamil Nadu, Palaniswami said.
The death comes against the backdrop of the Centre facing flak from opposition parties for not allotting centres for Tamil Nadu students in the state.
The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test or NEET is conducted for selecting students to study medical and dental courses.
Condoling the death of Krishnasamy, DMK working president M K Stalin hit out at the AIADMK regime for not pursuing legal measures to get exemption from NEET for Tamil Nadu students.
It may be recalled that Tamil Nadu had last year passed bills in the Assembly which sought to continue admission to medical courses based on plus two (Class 12) marks.
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Ernakulam district authorities said Krishnaswamy's body was shifted to the General Hospital in Kochi.
His body will be taken to his native place in the evening and his relatives are expected to reach here soon.
A Kerala police pilot vehicle will accompany the vehicle carrying the body till it reaches the state's border with Tamil Nadu. Kerala Revenue officials will accompany the body till Thiruvaroor, they said.
Collector Safirullah and Deputy Police Commissioner of Kochi Karuppusami are at the General Hospital.
