India, Aug. 17 -- The death of a 20-year-old engineering student from Arunachal Pradesh has triggered student protests and a state inquiry into academic policies at Mar Athanasius College of Engineering (MACE), with authorities examining whether institutional pressure over credits contributed to the tragedy.

Michi Marpu, a third-year BTech student from Naharlagun in Arunachal Pradesh, was found dead in his rented accommodation in Kozhipilly, near Kothamangalam, on Saturday evening. Marpu shared the accommodation with college mates, who discovered him and rushed him to Kothamangalam Taluk Hospital, where he was declared dead.

Police have registered a case of unnatural death under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita. The...