Civil police officer in Kerala found hanging; investigation launched

Kozhikode (Kerala), Oct 24 (PTI) A senior Civil Police Officer (CPO) allegedly died by suicide in this north Kerala district, police said on Tuesday.

This is the second instance of a Kerala police personnel taking extreme steps in this month.

On October 4, a driver in Kerala police died by suicide at his residence in Muvattupuzha in Ernakulam district.

He had left behind a note alleging that mental torture by some of his superior officers prompted him to take the extreme step.

In the Kozhikode incident, relatives of the CPO and locals of the area alleged before TV channels that the officer took the extreme step on Monday following work-related pressure from his superiors.

The officer was found hanging in the basement of an electronics store merely 200 meters from Kuttiyadi police station where he was posted, police said.

The senior CPO was missing from the station at around 11.30 am and his body was found by locals around 4 pm, it said.

A case of unnatural death has been registered and an investigation has been launched, police said.

As the locals and relatives claimed that the CPO's mobile phone was missing, police said it would be looking into that as well. PTI HMP HMP KH