Kerala government official found dead a day after CPI(M) leader's open criticism

Thiruvananthapuram: A senior government official in Kerala was found dead a day after a CPI(M) woman leader openly criticised him for his alleged involvement in corruption.

Additional district magistrate of Kannur district in north Kerala, Naveen Babu, 55, was found hanging at his official residence on Tuesday morning.

Kannur district panchayat president and CPI(M) leader P P Divya on Monday openly criticised Babu at a send-off function at the Kannur district collectorate organised for the ADM, who was being transferred to his home town Pathanamthitta.

Divya was said to have attended the meeting without being invited. She criticised Babu for delaying NOC to a petrol pump application. Divya left the venue stating that she did not want to be present when the officer was being felicitated.

Babu's death had triggered a row with the Congress and BJP staging demonstrations demanding police action against Divya as well as her resignation. Opposition leader V D Satheesan said that the act of Divya amounted to murder. The opposition also staged a protest over the incident in the Assembly and staged a walkout.

Kerala Revenue Minister K Rajan also said that Babu was known as an officer with good integrity. He also flayed the CPI(M) leader for openly criticising the officer. The minister also sought an inquiry report from the district collector on the incident.

While Divya was yet to make any comments on the matter, CPI(M) Kannur district secretary M V Jayarajan said that Divya should have avoided such remarks at the send-off function of an official. He also tried to justify that Divya could have mentioned about some general complaints.

CPI(M) local leaders from Babu's native place Pathanamthitta said that Babu hailed from a traditional CPI(M) family and was not a corrupt officer. They also sought action against Divya. "Babu was an officer with high integrity. If Divya's open criticism led to Babu's death action should be taken against her," a local leader Malayalapuzha Mohanan told reporters in Pathanamthitta.

Kannur district police chief Ajit Kumar said that no suicide note was found. A case for unnatural death was registered at Kannur town police station in connection with the incident.

Meanwhile, the petrol pump owner in Kannur who received the NOC, told a section of the media that Babu took a bribe of Rs 98,500 from him for the NOC and he had already sent a petition to the Chief Minister in this regard on October 10.

Babu was supposed to board a train to Pathanamthitta by Monday evening and join service on Tuesday. His wife had even gone to the Chengannur railway station near Pathanamthitta to receive him on Tuesday morning. Babu leaves behind wife and two daughters.