Thiruvananthapuram: The Congress on Sunday suspended District Congress Committee (DCC) General Secretary Jose Franklin following allegations linking him to the suicide of a 50-year-old woman.

Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Sunny Joseph, in a brief statement, said Franklin — who also serves as a Neyyattinkara municipal councillor — has been suspended from the party “in the wake of the allegations raised against him.”

Police have named Franklin as an accused for allegedly abetting the woman’s suicide near Perumbazhuthoor, close to Neyyattinkara, earlier this month.

Neyyattinkara police said he recently secured anticipatory bail from the District Principal Sessions Court. On Sunday, television channels aired a suicide note purportedly written by the woman accusing Franklin of mental and sexual harassment.

Following this development, the KPCC decided to suspend the leader from the party. Meanwhile, the CPI(M) and BJP held protests in Neyyattinkara demanding Franklin's resignation from his councillor post. PTI