CHENNAI: The woman vice president of Egnapuram panchayat, who was in the forefront of the months-long protest against building the proposed greenfield airport at Parandur, allegedly died by suicide on Tuesday.

The deceased, Divya Ganapathi (32) of Egnapuram, was serving as the vice president of the Egnapuram panchayat and was also an active participant in the protests being staged every day against the State government demanding to shift the location of the greenfield airport from Parandur.

According to the police, Divya was alone in the house on Monday night when she took the extreme step. After being informed about the woman being found dead, a team of officials from Sunguvarchathram police station went there on Tuesday morning, retrieved the body, and sent it for post-mortem examination to the Sriperumbudur GH.

The police have registered a case and are investigating the reason behind the suicide.

The news about Divya’s untimely death came as a shock for the villagers of Egnapuram, Parandur, and the neighbouring villages, as she used to lead the protest against the Parandur airport proposal right from the beginning.

It also caused tension in the neighbourhood, as a section of the local residents claimed that she was depressed by the development, worried that her village would be wiped off the map if the airport project was completed.

However, rejecting this, the police said Divya had health issues and said they suspected that she might have taken the extreme step due to that.