Chennai, May 6: Krishnaswamy, the father of one Kasturi Mahalingam, travelled to Kerala's Ernakulam along with his son, who was slated to write his National Eligibility-Cum-Entrance Test in the district. As fate had it, the 46-year-old suffered a heart attack and died, while his son was writing the NEET 2018 paper.

Krishnaswamy was a resident of Vilangudi village in Tamil Nadu. His body is being brought back by a team of state officials to his home-district for the last rites.

Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary Girija Vaidyanathan said Krishnaswamy was rushed to the local medical facility in Ernakulam after he suffered the heart attack. He was, however, declared dead on arrival.

Chief Minister Palaniswami announced an ex-gratia of Rs 3 lakh from the CM Relief fund to the deceased's immediate kin.

His death comes at a time when regional parties in Tamil Nadu have marked their dissent against the non-allocation of examination centres in the state by the Centre, which has forced the students to travel to neighbouring Kerala and Andhra Pradesh to write the entrance exam.

Palaniswami expressed anguish over Krishnaswamy's demise, saying the commutation of students to neighbouring states for writing the exams has further created a burden on them, as well as the parents.

The NEET is being attempted by over 11.7 lakh students this year. The marks are critical to secure admissions in medical courses at graduation level.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 06, 2018 08:14 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).