Forced to study interior design, student ends life

A 21-year old student from Bhutan reportedly committed suicide because she was forced to study interior design instead of journalism, police said.

Karma Dema, a student at the Acharya School of Design, Soladevanahalli, was found hanging in the college hostel on Thursday. She returned from the college around 12.15 pm and locked herself in. Her roommates repeatedly knocked on the door but found no response. They grew suspicious and informed the hostel authorities. Police were soon called. They broke Dema's hostel room only to find her hanging.

Although police didn't find a suicide note, preliminary investigations suggested that Dema was upset about being forced into the interior design course. She wanted to study journalism.

Dema's parents — father T B Chetri, a teacher, and mother Nerupa — arrived in Bengaluru on Friday. Chetri told the police that Dema had spoken to her mother on Wednesday night. The parents, however, said they had no idea why their daughter took her own life. They are in a state of shock.