She was sent out of examination hall after she was allegedly found indulging in a malpractice, say police.

A section of students of Sathyabama University in Chennai went on the rampage after a first-year engineering student committed suicide by hanging herself in her hostel room on Wednesday. Shouting slogans against the management, they staged a demonstration at the the college gate and set fire to billboards on the campus.

Police said Duvvru Raga Monica (19) from Hyderabad, who was pursuing the IT course, was sent out of the examination hall after she was allegedly found indulging in a malpractice. She went to her hostel room and committed suicide.

A police officer said the girl’s twin brother, who was also writing the exam in the same hall, received a message from her after she was sent out.

The student, according to college officials, went to her hostel room and sent her brother the message saying 'goodbye'. Only after completing the exam at 11.30 a.m., he could see the message and rushed to the hostel. With the help of the watchman, he found her room and entered it only to find her hanging.

According to the college officials, only after 7.30 p.m., some students began the agitation and indulged in arson.

Monica's father Raja Reddy, who is a general manager in a private company in Hyderabad, has lodged a complaint with the Semmencheri police station.

'Procedure followed'

A college official said that as the girl was found to be indulging in malpractice, she was asked to sign a form and sent out of the exam hall. “This is the regular procedure followed when a student is found indulging in malpractice during exams,” he added.

Help is available on the State’s helpline 104 and Sneha’s suicide prevention line 044-24640050.