CHENNAI: A 19-year-old second-year engineering student of the Alagappa College of Technology (ACT), Anna University, was found dead in his college hostel room on Thursday.

The student, identified as Sabareeswaran from Namakkal district, died by suicide, the police said. He was pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Leather Technology.

The incident came to light when his roommates, after attending the morning class, returned during the lunch break and found the room locked from the inside. After receiving no response to repeated knocks, they informed the hostel warden. Authorities then entered the room and discovered the student dead, the Kotturpuram police said, adding his body was sent to Government Royapettah Hospital for postmortem.

Preliminary inquiries indicate that the student had recently spoken to friends about the possibilities of discontinuing his studies, the police said. A case has been registered and further probe is on.