Thiruvananthapuram | A 17-year-old boy lodged at a government observation home at Poojappura here allegedly died by suicide on May 13.

According to an official of the observation home, the boy suffered from bipolar disorder and was brought there in December last year after being caught in connection with a theft case being investigated by the railway police.

The official said that the incident occurred in a gap of 5-10 minutes.

"At one moment he was sitting with the other children singing and dancing, the next moment he was not there. When we looked for him, he was found hanging from a window in one of the rooms here," the official told PTI.

He had in the past undergone treatment at the Mental Health Center in Peroorkada here a couple of times, the official said.

The boy's parents, who are daily wage labourers, had taken him home a couple of times, but had brought him back to the observation home after finding it difficult to take care of him, the official said.

An officer of Poojappura police station said that the inquest proceedings were on and further details would be available only after that.