A first-year engineering student shot himself dead with a licensed pistol of his father at his residence here, police said on Thursday.

The 19-year-old Vishu Uthappa shot himself in the chest on Wednesday when his parents were not at their Madanayakanahalli home, a senior police officer said.

"Preliminary inquiry revealed that there was a quarrel between mother and son over his studies. His mother had apparently scolded him for not focusing on his studies but they soon also patched up. So, the exact reason behind him taking this extreme step is still a matter of investigation", he said.

No suicide note was recovered from the spot, police said.

His father is employed with Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises (NICE) for the last seven years and had a licensed pistol as his job involved depositing in the bank the money collected at a NICE toll road.

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