Bengaluru: An attempt at suicide, in which Thamarai Chelvan (18), a native of Theni in Tamil Nadu tried to hang himself on the hostel terrace after four of his classmates demanded Rs. 4,000 for a laptop, rocked Bengaluru yesterday. He was a first-year student of a nursing college, South East Asian College of Nursing at KR Puram.

The incident occurred on January 28 at the college hostel at K.R. Puram here.

It is reported that, unable to bear the harassment for two days, Thamarai called up his elder brother in Madurai on January 28 around 9.30 a.m. and hung up after breaking down.

Around 11 a.m., his father, special sub-inspector P. Tirumurugan, received a call from the principal saying that his son had attempted suicide and that his condition was serious.

The boys father, alleged that the K.R. Puram police were hesitant to register a complaint the following day, demanding that it should be written in Kannada.

An FIR was registered on February 1, he said, and accused that mild charges (Section 504-intentional insult to provoke breach of peace and section 506-criminal intimidation) had been pressed against the four boys.

H. Sudarshan Ballal, Director, Manipal Hospital, said the boy had suffered a cardiac arrest before being admitted to the hospital.