Kasaragod: The brother of a young woman who died by suicide while preparing for the NEET re-examination in June was found hanging in a hotel in Mangaluru on Monday, August 10. Arjun Mahesh (24), son of K Radhika and Mahesh of Mukkood in Pallikkara grama panchayat, was found dead at Sky Grand Empire Hotel in Maravoor near Mangaluru International Airport, around noon, said Mangaluru City Police Commissioner Sudheer Kumar Reddy.

The officer said investigators recovered a brief note from the room. The note began with the words, “Amma, I’m sorry,” and requested that a couple of his friends be informed about his death, said Reddy. Arjun was working as an automobile engineer with Nissan in Dubai.

His only sibling, Ayja R Mahesh (19), was found hanging in a hostel at Pala in Kottayam district on June 2. She was rushed to a private hospital in Arunapuram near Pala, and later shifted to another hospital, where she died on June 3.

Ayja died while preparing for the NEET re-examination scheduled for June 21. Her mother had earlier said that Ayja was confident of securing a good score in the original examination but was deeply distressed after the National Testing Agency (NTA) cancelled it following the question paper leak. When the re-examination was announced, she returned to her hostel in Pala, telling her family that she was unable to focus on her studies at home.

Police suspect that Arjun, who had been struggling to come to terms with his sister’s death, may also have been under severe emotional distress. The exact circumstances leading to his death are under investigation.

Arjun was in Kerala at the time of his sister’s death and later returned to Dubai for work.

According to relatives, he had told close friends on Sunday that he was travelling home. He reportedly flew to Mangaluru and called his mother around 1 pm on Sunday, but did not tell her that he had returned to India.

Later in the afternoon, friends in Dubai informed the family that Arjun was on his way home. Family members then tried repeatedly to contact him, but his phone was switched off.

Growing concerned, relatives and neighbours travelled to Mangaluru on Sunday and sought the police’s help to find him.

They searched several lodges but were unable to trace him.

On Monday afternoon, they found him dead in the hotel at Maravoor.

Bajpe Police, investigating the case, said Arjun had booked the room as Arjun Radhika, using his mother’s name instead of the name Arjun Mahesh.

The body will be handed over to the family after autopsy at Wenlock Hospital, said police.