BJP Councillor Commits Suicide Inside BJP Office, Blaming BJP; Media Personnel Attacked While Reporting Incident

Thiruvananthapuram: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Thiruvananthapuram, Thirumala ward councillor and district general secretary of BJP Thiruvananthapuram City, K. Anil Kumar was found dead by hanging in the BJP office on September 20, 2025 morning.

His suicide note, which was published in the media, reportedly contained allegations against BJP leadership, citing lack of support from the party during a financial crisis in a cooperative society.

Following the discovery of Anil Kumar’s body, over a hundred BJP workers attacked journalists who had arrived at the council office to report the incident. The attack occurred in the presence of BJP leader V.V. Rajesh and others. Journalists from various news channels including Deshabhimani, News18 Kerala, Mathrubhumi, Reporter TV, 24 News, News Malayalam, and Mathrubhumi News were targeted.

Deshabhimani’s chief photographer G. Pramod was forcibly seized by BJP cadres who broke his camera and attacked him. Several female journalists were also assaulted and forcibly detained. Cameramen Rajkiran (24 News) and others sustained injuries. Many media personnel suffered physical harm during the assault.

The Kerala Press Club has strongly condemned the violent attack on journalists and demanded immediate arrest and strict action against those responsible. The club’s president P.R. Praveen and secretary M. Radhakrishnan described the incident as a blatant violation of press freedom and basic human dignity.

The Kerala Press Workers Union (KWJU), Thiruvananthapuram district committee, also condemned the BJP-led violence and called for swift police intervention. District officials Shiller Stefan and Anupama G. Nair announced that a complaint would be lodged with the Director General of Police (DGP).

Anil Kumar’s suicide note reportedly included references to financial difficulties in the cooperative society and blamed the BJP leadership for neglecting to provide necessary assistance. This note is had triggered the violent reaction by BJP cadres towards the media personnel covering the story.