Police in the south Russian republic of Kalmykia say they cannot confirm reports that a newspaper editor, who was abducted on Sunday, has been killed.

A Russian television report on NTV said Larisa Yudina -- who edited the paper Sovetskaya Kalmykia -- was abducted while following up a story about financial irregularities.

It said her body had been found on Monday night.

However local police say no-one has seen the newspaper editor since her disappearance.