A lower court in Kerala, on Tuesday, October 29, has dismissed the anticipatory bail petition of Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) leader PP Divya, in connection with the alleged suicide of Kannur Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Naveen Babu. She was booked by the police on October 17 for allegedly abetting the suicide of Naveen Babu, who was found dead at his residence on October 15. The case came up for hearing before the Thalassery Principal Sessions Court Judge KT Nisar Ahmed.
“The accused should get maximum punishment. Police should take immediate action to arrest her. Collector should have been conscious, it was an event organised by the staff council. The collector shouldn't have allowed that person (PP Divya) to come and talk, also a local channel recorded it. Collector should have intervened," Manjusha, Naveen Babu's wife responded to the media.
According to a LiveLaw report, Divya contended that she was invited by Kannur District Collector Arun K Vijayan and that she spoke to prevent corruption in the system and to improve the efficiency of the administrative system. However, the Public Prosecutor argued that she was not invited to the function and she intentionally made the speech to humiliate the ADM.
It is speculated that Naveen Babu was upset over the corruption allegations levelled against him by Divya, who is also the Kannur district panchayat president. Divya had allegedly insinuated that the ADM had accepted a bribe before issuing a no objection certificate (NOC) to a petrol pump in his jurisdiction.
On October 14, during the farewell of Naveen, Divya said that she once spoke to Naveen to discuss the NOC for a petrol pump in Chengalayi. “I had also called him multiple times to visit the spot. Once, he told me that he visited the site and that it was difficult to give an NOC because of some bends and curves on the road. Later, the NOC for the petrol pump was given. I know how that was given, and I called this press conference to thank him.” Insinuating that Naveen took a bribe to grant the NOC, Divya said that he should not behave “in a similar manner” at the new place. Her allegation was backed by the petrol pump owner Prashant, who spoke to the media after Naveen’s death. He alleged that the ADM had demanded Rs 1 lakh as bribe. “He said the NOC would not be given if I did not pay up. I paid around Rs 98,500 in cash, which he said was enough. I had told Divya about this incident and how I got the NOC. Divya told me to immediately file a complaint with the Kerala Chief Minister,” Prashant alleged. Following this, he filed a complaint against the ADM on October 10.