Kottayam (Kerala), April 7 A farmer was found dead by hanging at the premises of a CPI office in the Kottayam district of Kerala on Tuesday, police said.
The incident occurred in Thalayazham, near Vaikom, and the deceased was identified as Chellappan Pulikkasheri, a local farmer.
"He was a farmer and reportedly a local public activist. The inquest proceedings have been completed. Further details need to be confirmed," a police officer said.
Family sources alleged that Pulikkasheri had earlier raised complaints against certain local CPI leaders in connection with his farming activities.
Soon after the body was found, local residents staged a brief protest at the party office premises.
A man, claiming to be a former CPI activist, told the media that the deceased had longstanding issues with some local leaders of the party and alleged that they had failed to support his agricultural activities despite repeated requests.
He further alleged that Pulikkasheri's plant nursery, his primary source of livelihood, had been vandalised earlier by certain CPI workers, though it was initially attributed to anti-social elements.
Local people also said that the farmer had recently posted messages on social media criticizing some CPI leaders.
Reacting to the incident, AICC general secretary K C Venugopal accused the LDF government of neglecting farmers and pushing them into distress.
He alleged that paddy procurement in the state had collapsed and that farmers were not being paid for procured paddy.
Senior Congress leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor also criticised the state government, claiming the farmer's message was directed at the ruling LDF which had "betrayed him and his interests."
He expressed hope that under a UDF government, no farmer would be driven to such desperate measures.
The Assembly elections in Kerala will be held on April 9.
However, CPI Kottayam district secretary V K Santhosh Kumar termed the alleged suicide death "suspicious" and demanded a comprehensive investigation into the incident.
He questioned how the deceased, who was differently-abled, could have climbed to such a height, and alleged that some of his earlier videos appeared to have been made with professional assistance.
Police said a detailed investigation is underway to ascertain the circumstances leading to the death.