Patna, Dec. 15: A student was found hanging from the ceiling fan of a classroom at Kurji Holy Family College of Nursing this morning.

Neha Kumari, 21, was a first-year student of BSc (Nursing) and used to live in the hostel located on the institute premises.

Her family members alleged that she was murdered.

"Based on the family members' statement, the police have registered a murder case," said Patliputra police station house officer Sanjeev Shekhar Jha.

The police have not arrested anyone yet, and the post-mortem report is awaited, police sources said.

No one has been arrested so far in connection with the case. Neha, who was from Janata Nagar under the Gardanibagh police station area, used to live at one of the rooms on the second floor of the institute.

This morning, her roommate found her missing and later, around 7.15am, a friend discovered Neha's body at the classroom.

There was no one in the classes at that time.

"Neha was suffering from depression because of the discrimination and mental torture she faced at her institute. She was discriminated against because of her religion," Neha's uncle Mukesh Kumar Mridul told The Telegraph.

Neha's family members alleged that she was given mainly non-vegetarian dishes at meals, which she didn't like, in the minority community-run institution.

"In the name of imposing strict discipline she was not even allowed to talk to her family members as the institute administration used to keep Neha's mobile. She was allowed to talk to her family members only on Sundays," Mukesh said.

M. Zaman, senior human resource manager at the college, denied the allegations.

"The allegation made by the girl's family members is baseless; the institute never discriminates against any student on religious grounds," he said.

The mobile-only-on-Sunday rule was for all students, he pointed out. "The incident is shocking for us as we have lost one of our bright students," he added. The college is situated inside the Kurji Holy Family Hospital campus and the nursing course is affiliated with Aryabhatta Knowledge University.

Zaman said that till a few years ago, mostly students from the minority community (Christians) used to join nursing courses, but now the trend was changing.

The institute has set up a four-member committee - one from the administration, one teacher and two students - to probe the reason behind the death.

A friend of Neha's, who did not want to be identified, denied that Neha was discriminated against because of her religion.

Another nursing student at the institute, who also requested anonymity, said: "Neha was introverted, hardworking and a quick learner. On several occasions we had asked Neha whether she was suffering from depression, but she denied."

Neha's father, Kamlesh Kumar Kamal, runs a flour mill in the Gardanibagh area.

Her elder brother Kumar Gaurav studies in New Delhi, while her younger brother is a Class X student.