Divya's surrender took place at a pre-arranged location, following an agreement with the police, who took precautions to prevent any footage of the event from being leaked. The surrender occurred near her residence in Kannapuram in Kannur.
Published Oct 29, 2024 | 4:36 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 29, 2024 | 4:36 PM
CPI(M) leader PP Divya.
The Thalassery Principal Sessions Court in the Kannur district in Kerala on Tuesday, 29 October, dismissed the anticipatory bail plea of CPI(M) leader and former district panchayat president PP Divya. She has been accused of abetting the suicide of former Additional District Magistrate (ADM) of Kannur Naveen Babu following serious corruption allegations made against him.
Following the court’s decision, delivered shortly after it convened at around 11 am on Tuesday, K Naveen Babu’s wife, Manjusha — who holds the position of Additional Tehsildar in Konni — expressed that the police should proceed with Divya’s arrest.
Divya has surrendered to the investigating officer and is currently being questioned by the investigation team in police custody.
Divya’s surrender took place at a pre-arranged location, following an agreement with the police, who took precautions to prevent any footage of the event from being leaked. The surrender occurred near her residence in Kannapuram in Kannur.
In the court, advocate K Vishwan defended Divya, while the prosecution was represented by advocate K Ajith Kumar, and advocate John S Ralph appeared on behalf of Manjusha.
Land Revenue Joint Commissioner A Geetha, who led the departmental inquiry into the death of Naveen Babu had submitted her findings to the government on 24 October.
Geetha has revealed that PP Divya was responsible for leaking the farewell function video to the media. The footage depicted ADM Naveen Babu being publicly humiliated during his farewell meeting.
The inquiry confirmed that allegations against Naveen Babu, which claimed he had delayed actions on a file concerning a fuel station, were baseless.
Additionally, the Joint Commissioner has procured video footage from the television news channels that broadcasted the incident and gathered statements from the media personnel involved.
However, Divya has not been cooperative throughout the investigation, prompting the Land Revenue Commissioner to refrain from recording her statements.
During the inquiry, Kannur District Collector Arun K Vijayan refuted the claims of any conspiracy surrounding the farewell meeting. Arun said he had a conversation with PP Divya on the morning of 14 October, during the social solidarity week celebration which he was overseeing. It was during this event that Divya asked about the timing of the farewell meeting.
Divya mentioned a specific incident involving a No Objection Certificate (NOC) request for a petrol pump in Chengalayi. She had asked the ADM to visit the site, but despite following up, the applicant expressed frustration over the lack of progress. The ADM later informed her that issuing the NOC would be challenging due to the sharp curves in the area.
While she acknowledged that the NOC was eventually granted just before the ADM’s departure, Divya expressed mixed feelings about how it was obtained.
Following his death, acomplaint raised by the proprietor of the petrol pump has also surfaced. The complaint was allegedly raised by Prasanthan T V with the Chief Minister on 10 October.
In it, he alleged that Naveen Babu has purportedly delayed the sanctioning of the pump and he demanded an amount of ₹1 lakh as a bribe. He then stated that he handed over ₹98,500 to Naveen and the sanction was eventually granted.
The Collector also noted that the delay in relieving Naveen Babu from his position in Kannur, following his transfer order, was due to a staff shortage.
Additionally, TV Prasanth stated that he had not communicated any prior intentions regarding his plans to open a fuel station. He only reached out to Divya after encountering delays in securing the necessary license and informed her of the situation at that time.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil with inputs from Sreelakshmi Soman)
