A first-year student of a private university in Punjab's Phagwara committed suicide, triggering a protest by fellow students on the campus, police said on Wednesday.

"The student, who was from Kerala and was studying B.Design at Lovely Professional University (LPU), took the extreme step on Tuesday,' they said.

Soon after, other students of the university held a protest on the campus. Policemen have been deployed outside the university campus.

Prima facie, the student was facing some personal issues, as was suggested by a suicide note left by him, a police official in Phagwara said.

Police said the student's parents have been informed and an investigation is underway.

A Kapurthala district administration official appealed to students not to believe any rumours.

LPU said it is saddened by the unfortunate incident.

"The initial investigation by the police, and the content of the suicide note point towards personal issues of the deceased. The university is providing full support to the authorities for further investigation.

"The University mourns the loss of the student and expresses its condolences to the bereaved family," LPU said in a statement posted on its Twitter handle.