Family members of Sanjay Yadav—a Class VIII student in Cornell Public School, Sector 10-A—said he was depressed after his cousin Manoj’s death.

Sanjay’s mother found him hanging from the ceiling around 4 pm on Tuesday when she returned from the grocery, police said.

Sanjay’s father, Mukesh Yadav, told Newsline, “Sanjay was very close to Manoj. He was depressed after his death.”

Mukesh said Sanjay would constantly weep and say he “wanted to be with bhaiya soon”. “He even slept with a photograph of Manoj under his pillow,” Mukesh said.

Family members said they expected him to eventually overcome the loss and sorrow. “I am at a complete loss. He was my only son and now, even he is gone,” said the mourning father.

Sanjay was the only son and has left five sisters behind. “Constant talk about the suicide in the house probably led the boy to kill himself,” said Station House Officer Radhey Shyam.