Tearful adieu to Kerala ADM; CPI(M) leader Divya booked for abetment of suicide

Thiruvananthapuram: While Kerala gave a tearful farewell to Kannur additional district magistrate Naveen Babu who died by suicide, the police have booked CPI(M) leader and Kannur district panchayat president P P Divya, who snubbed the officer, on charges of abetment to suicide.

Emotional scenes were witnessed as Babu's body was brought to his home at Pathanamthitta, where his mortal remains were kept for public display at the District Collectorate on Thursday afternoon. Babu's daughters and his wife were inconsolable when his body was brought home at Malayalapuzha.

Babu's daughters performed the last rites and funeral was performed at his house at Malayalapuzha in Pathanamthitta. Revenue minister K Rajan and health minister Veena George were among the hundreds who attended the funeral.

Hundreds of local people and former colleagues paid homages to Babu when his body was kept at the Pathanamthitta collectorate where he was supposed to join as deputy collector on Tuesday on being transferred from Kannur.

Former Pathanamthitta collector Divya S Iyer broke down while paying homage. She said that she could never believe that Babu would take bribe as he was an officer with high integrity.

Meanwhile, the Kannur police decided to arraign CPI(M) leader P P Divya as accused in the unnatural death case registered in connection with Babu's death. Sources said that the police will file a report in the local court in this regard soon and subsequently steps like quizzing and arresting could be initiated.

Even after two days of Babu's death, Divya, who is a prominent leader of the CPI(M) in its stronghold Kannur, is yet to make any comments on the matter. She is also keeping off from public events owing to the strong protest against her.

Babu was found hanging at his official residence in Kannur on Tuesday morning, a day after Divya snubbed him at his sent-off function. She accused him of corruption in granting NOC to a petrol pump application.

Even as the petrol pump applicant Prasanth later claimed that Babu demanded a bribe of Rs 98,500 from him and he had sent a petition to the Chief Minister last week, the veracity of the claim is strongly suspected. There are also allegations that the proposed petrol pump was a benami investment of Divya's husband and some prominent CPI(M) leaders of the district.