Lucknow Shock: Student Murders Father Over NEET Exam Pressure

A chilling incident in Lucknow has once again thrust the dark side of academic pressure and India’s hyper-competitive medical entrance exams into the national spotlight.

On Monday, Lucknow Police arrested a 19-year-old student, Akshat Pratap Singh, for allegedly shooting his father dead, dismembering the body, and hiding the torso in a plastic drum inside their home in the Ashiana area.

According to police, the horrific crime occurred in the early hours of February 20. The victim, 49-year-old Manvendra Singh, was a pathology lab owner who reportedly subjected his son to relentless pressure to clear the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET). This pressure persisted despite Akshat already being enrolled in a B.Com program. A heated argument over this career dispute allegedly pushed the teen to grab his father’s licensed rifle and shoot him at close range.

In an attempt to destroy the evidence, Akshat dragged the body to the ground floor and used a saw to dismember it. He disposed of the severed limbs in an isolated village on the outskirts of the city and stuffed the remaining torso into a blue drum hidden in a vacant room.

The crime was uncovered days later when neighbors complained of a foul smell. The accused had initially tried to mislead authorities by filing a fake missing person report, and he reportedly threatened his younger sister, a Class 11 student who witnessed the shooting, into silence. He was finally intercepted by a police patrol while attempting to dispose of the remaining torso.