Karwar:  A 35- year old Russian citizen committed suicide by hanging in a cottage at Bijjur in the Gokarna town limits in Uttara Kannada district on Sunday afternoon, police said.

The deceased has been identified as Roman Belov of Vladivostok in Russia who had come to Gokarna in November last year. He had reportedly converted into Hinduism before becoming a 'sanayasi'.

On Sunday, he was found hanging in the bathroom of his friend Catherina's cottage. With help from neighbouring Russians, whe broke open the bathroom door and gave him first aid, bu he did not survive.

According to sources, he was married, but left his wife and child in Russia as he was suffering from mental illness. He used to come to India every year and was staying in Gokarna for the last couple of months. Recently, he took 'sanyasa' and was staying in the cottage of Catherina, another Russian who also turned sanyasini, at Bijjur. It is said that he used to perform various sanyasa rituals, but he was not mingling with others.

His body is kept in the mortuary of Father Muller Hospital in Mangaluru. The police have contacted the Russian embassy in India, which is trying to contact Belov's sister and wife in Vladivostok.

Gokarna police have registered a case of unnatural death.