Kochi | A police officer, facing a probe into allegations of raping a female doctor, was found dead near a stadium here on Wednesday, police said.

Saiju, a former Circle Inspector of a police station in Thiruvananthapuram district, was found hanging at a property near Ambedkar Stadium under the Ernakulam Central police station limit, they said.

He allegedly took the extreme step a day after the Kerala High Court rejected his bail application in the case, police said.

His body has been shifted to the Ernakulam General Hospital for postmortem, they added.

In her complaint to the police, the female doctor alleged that the police officer sexually exploited her multiple times by promising to marry her.

He also allegedly threatened to kill her.

He was suspended from service following a crime branch investigation against him in the case.