Thiruvananthapuram | A BJP city corporation councillor was found dead by hanging in his office on Saturday morning, police said.

K Anil Kumar, councillor of Thirumala ward, was discovered at around 9 am in what is being treated as a suspected case of suicide.

Police have launched an investigation. Local sources said Kumar was seen at the office in the morning and was later found dead.

Television reports suggested that he had been under stress over financial issues at a cooperative society he headed.

Some reports claimed that a suicide note was recovered near his body, containing remarks against BJP leaders. Police, however, have not confirmed the recovery of any note.

“We are completing other proceedings. An investigation is ongoing,” a police officer said.

BJP district president V V Rajesh said Kumar had been worried about financial irregularities at the bank.

“As per my understanding, several people failed to repay loans they had availed. Anil Kumar was under mental stress over this,” he told reporters, without commenting on the alleged contents of the purported suicide note.

The ruling CPI(M) expressed sorrow over Kumar’s death and called for a probe into the alleged role of BJP leaders in the cooperative society’s financial issues.

Tensions flared at Kumar’s office as some BJP activists reportedly manhandled media personnel covering the incident. The Press Club and Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) condemned the assault.

Senior BJP leader Karamana Jayan later stated that "assaulting journalists was not the party’s policy".