A 21-year-old second-year medical student from Bihar was found hanging inside a hostel toilet at a private medical college in West Bengal’s Durgapur, a police officer said.

The deceased, identified as Lavanya Pratap, was a resident of Patna and was pursuing an MBBS degree at the institute.

His body was discovered on Saturday night and was subsequently kept in the hospital morgue by the local police.

Preliminary investigation indicates the death may have been a suicide, the officer said, adding that the exact cause would be confirmed after a post-mortem examination.

The family has been informed and has reached Durgapur. As part of the ongoing probe, investigators have questioned classmates and other hostel inmates.

Police are also looking into reports that the student had failed one subject in the recent semester examinations and may have been under mental stress.

In October last year, a student of the same medical college from Odisha was allegedly gang-raped when she had gone out with a male friend. Police had arrested the friend along with five other accused in connection with the case.