Maharashtra: teen kills self after Facebook row

A 17-year-old has committed suicide after a row with her parents who told her she had to stop using Facebook, police said today.

A 17-year-old has committed suicide after a row with her parents who told her she had to stop using Facebook, police said Friday.

College student Aishwarya Dahiwal was found hanging in her bedroom in Parbhani, Maharashtra on Wednesday after an argument with her parents, an investigating officer told AFP, declining to be named.

'On Wednesday night, she had an argument with her parents who told her not to just use Facebook and her mobile all day for chatting,' the officer from Nanal Peth police station said.

'They told her to focus on her studies. After the argument, she locked herself in her room and was found hanging later, with a suicide note nearby,' he said.

A note referring to the argument and Facebook is being examined by police.

Experts say that there are almost always multiple causes for a suicide, including psychiatric illnesses, that may not have been recognised or treated.

Internet use remains low across India but is growing quickly, expected to reach about 200 million online out of the 1.2 billion-strong population by the end of 2013.

About three-quarters of India's high school students prefer Facebook over phone calls to communicate, according to a survey released in June by Tata Consultancy Services.