Kasaragod: Chaithanya Kumari (20), a third-year nursing student who attempted suicide in her hostel room in December last year, died on Saturday after being in a coma for more than three months.

Her death has shattered the dreams of her parents, Sadanandan and Ommana, from Panathur, a village on the Karnataka-Kasaragod border. The family, originally from Kottayam, does not own a single cent of land. They leased farmland in Karnataka's Karike grama panchayat to earn a living and sent their daughter to nursing school by borrowing money from several people.

Suresh Panathur, a neighbour and social worker, said they had placed all their hopes on her after a relative in the US offered to help find her a job there.

Chaithanya tried to take her own life on December 7 in her hostel room at Manzoor Hospital & School of Nursing in Kanhangad. Her suicide attempt triggered violent protests by fellow students and parents, who accused the management of workplace harassment and enforcing "prison-like conditions" in the school and hostel.

The students said they were forced to stay in the on-campus hostel, denied food if they missed dining hours, allowed to use mobile phones only for two hours a week (on Sundays), and could step out only for two hours with relatives during weekends.

Her parents, along with protesting students, blamed this harsh treatment for pushing Chaithanya to the extreme step. The protest grew until the Hosdurg police intervened. After talks, the management agreed to relax some rules, including allowing students to stay in off-campus hostels and use mobile phones every alternate day.

After her suicide attempt, Chaithanya was first treated at Indiana Hospital in Mangaluru, then shifted to Kasturba Medical College (KMC) in Mangaluru, and then to Aster MIMS in Kannur. For the past month, she was treated at Kozhikode Medical College. Manzoor Hospital management covered her medical expenses.

Chaithanya is survived by her parents and younger brother Ramkumar, a Class 12 student. Their neighbour Suresh Panathur said, "They worked hard on leased land, hoping to give their daughter a better life. She was their hope."