Kannur ADM Naveen Babu.
Credit: Facebook/P B Nooh IAS
Thiruvananthapuram: Mystery is deepening over the suspected conspiracy behind the snubbing of a Kerala government official, which believed to have led to his suicide.
Amidst allegations that CPI(M) leader and former Kannur district panchayat president P P Divya snubbed deputy collector and additional district magistrate Naveen Babu with the knowledge of Kannur district collector Arun K Vijayan, it has come out that the collector had spoken to Divya over phone on the day of the incident.
Vijayan who admitted to the media that he had a telephone conversation with Divya on that day refused to divulge the details citing that the investigation is on.
Divya had said in her anticipatory bail application that she was invited by the collector to Babu's send-off at the collectorate on October 14. However, collector denied it.
Babu's family and CPI(M) local leaders from his home town Pathanamthitta raised suspicions on Vijayan's involvement in the conspiracy. They also accused the IAS officer of putting undue work pressure on Babu.
A petition accusing Babu of accepting bribe was found to be fake owing to mismatch in the signature of the petitioner T V Prakashan, who had given the controversial petrol pump application. The source of fund of Prakashan, who is an electrician at a hospital, is also under scanner amidst allegations that he was acting as a benami of some CPI(M) leaders in the district.
The delay on the part of the police in arresting Divya even a week after the incident has also invited criticism.
Even as Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan reportedly assured at the Left-front meeting on Monday that Divya won't get any protection, CPI(M) is yet to take any action against Divya other than asking her to step down from the panchayat president post.
While Kerala governor Arif Mohammed Khan and many prominent political leaders visited Babu's family and consoled the family, the Chief Minister is also facing criticism for not visiting the family yet.
Babu was found hanging in his official residence in Kannur on October 15, a day after Divya snubbed him at his send-off meeting and raised corruption allegations against him. Babu is widely considered as an officer with high level of integrity.