Kasaragod: A 17-year-old girl who had recently secured admission to a college in Mangaluru was found hanging at her house on Thursday. Police said preliminary inquiries suggest she may have been distressed over not getting a mobile phone immediately.

The deceased was identified as Prithvika (17), daughter of Girish Acharya and Deepa Acharya, residents of Meepuguri in Madhur grama panchayat on the outskirts of Kasaragod.

Kasaragod Town Police sub-inspector said Prithvika had enrolled in a degree course in Mangaluru after the Class XII results were announced. She had reportedly been asking her parents to buy her a mobile phone. While her father, who works with a logistics company, told her he would buy one in a couple of days, her mother reportedly felt there was no immediate need for a phone.

“Based on the information gathered so far, this appears to have caused her distress,” the officer said, adding that further investigation is underway. Panchayat member Ganesh Meepuguri said relatives had also linked the incident to the delay over buying a mobile phone.

The incident is believed to have occurred between 9 am and 11.15 am on Thursday. “She was doing fine in the morning,” said Ganesh. Family members rushed her to Kasaragod General Hospital, where doctors declared her dead.

Based on a complaint filed by her relative, Nagaraj K, Kasaragod Town Police registered a case of unnatural death under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).