MUMBAI, July 30: Former Miss India Nafisa Joseph, who was a popular television actress and anchor for the entertainment channel MTV India, hanged herself from a ceiling fan in her Mumbai home, police said on Friday.

The 25-year-old Joseph, who won the Miss India crown in 1997, committed suicide on late Thursday in a suburb of the country's entertainment and financial capital.

Her mother, Usha Joseph, found her and took her to a nearby hospital but the beauty queen was declared dead on arrival. She said her daughter committed suicide after her fiance said he was calling off their wedding set for next month and the pair argued.

"She was an emotionally strong girl and would usually never succumb to emotional pressures," she told reporters. "Police are investigating the case and trying to find out the reason for Nafisa to have taken such a step. She left no suicide note," assistant police commissioner Arun Waluj told AFP.

There was no immediate comment available from her fiance. Her friends and relatives said they were unable to believe the news as Joseph, also an animal rights activist, had always had a lively personality. Joseph was originally from Bangalore. -AFP