BENGALURU: A 19-year-old engineering student , who was active on social media, committed suicide hours after he received a new mobile phone in exchange for his old device. He was found hanging at his paying guest accommodation near Kadubeesanahalli, southeast Bengaluru , on Friday.The teenager’s father alleged that harassment by two women friends pushed his son to take the extreme step.Police said Athish S Nayak , a resident of Sri Ram PG in Kariyammana Agrahara and from Kalaburagi, chatted with some girls from the new phone and told them he was facing a serious problem and would tell them about it later.The II-semester BE (civil) student of a Marathahalli college left behind a single-line suicide note, reading: “Please inform my parents.”Marathahalli police registered a case of abetment to suicide against the two women friends he’d befriended on Facebook . Police said they are trying to trace the girls, whose identities have been withheld.“We have registered a case based on a complaint from his father Subash Nayak, head constable in Kalaburagi,” a police officer said.Subash told police he and his daughter visited Athish in Bengaluru two months ago when he complained to them about the harassment from his two Facebook girlfriends. Athish said the girls were demanding money from him.Police said Athish was staying in the PG with three classmates. He told his friends on Friday morning that he would skip college as he was waiting to receive the new mobile, which was to be delivered that day. He had placed an order for the new device online and was to exchange his old one.“The incident came to light when his friends returned from college around 3pm and found him hanging from the ceiling,” a police officer said.Preliminary investigation revealed that Athish, who was poor in academics, had failed to clear five subjects in his I semester examination. His roommates told police they were not aware of Athish’s problems but had noticed that he was constantly on social media, including Facebook and WhatsApp.“We are yet to trace his old phone, which was exchanged hours before his death. We can get more information about his social media activities only if we get that device. We are analysing his mobile call details to trace those who were in constant touch with him,” a police officer said.

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