The body has been sent for post-mortem examination, said police. (Representational)

Pratapgarh, Uttar Pradesh:

A former block panchayat member committed suicide by shooting himself with a pistol in a village here on Sunday evening, police said.

While the police are yet to ascertain the reason behind the man’s extreme step, his family members said he was stressed as he had lent money to some people and they were not returning it.

Additional Superintendent of Police (West) Rohit Mishra said Mukesh Kumar Saroj (45), a resident of Aghiya village and a former block panchayat member, shot himself in the head.

The body has been sent for post-mortem examination and the reason behind Saroj’s extreme step is being ascertained, he said.

Saroj’s family members said he committed suicide because he had lent money to some people and they were not returning it.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)