*NEW DELHI: Four friends in northern India anxious over their job prospectsjumped in front of a train Thursday in an apparent suicide pact, policesaid Thursday.*
Three died at the scene in Rajasthan while a fourth succumbed to hisinjuries in hospital, state police told AFP.
Eyewitnesses said the students, aged between 17 and 24, were anxious aboutjobs and upcoming exams before they hurled themselves in front on themoving carriages in Alwar.
“The probe will reveal the actual reason of the suicide. An eyewitness hassaid that the boys were worried about jobs,” a Rajasthan police officialtold AFP.
Voters go to the polls next month in Rajasthan, a desert state of nearly 70million where joblessness is a burning issue.
In September, more than 23,000 jobseekers in Rajasthan applied for justfive entry-level government jobs requiring menial office work.
India oasts Asia’s third-largest economy but concerns about job growth,especially for its huge youth population, have been on the rise ahead ofnext year’s general election.
Suicide is also a major problem in the South Asian nation of 1.25 billion,especially among students.
India some of the highest suicide rates in the world and in 2015 nearly9,000 students took their own lives, official figures show. – APP/AFP