Charge sheet filed in Kannur ADM death case; CPI-M’s PP Divya lone accused

Kannur: The Kerala Police on Saturday filed a 400-page charge sheet in a local court here in connection with the Kannur Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Naveen Babu death case, and named CPI-M leader P. P. Divya as the lone accused.

The charge sheet pointed out that the lone accused is then Kannur district panchayat president, Divya.

Babu was found hanging at his official residence on October 15, 2024, just a day after he was publicly accused of corruption by Divya.

The incident occurred shortly after his official farewell in Kannur.

Divya, then the Kannur District Panchayat President, had attended Babu’s farewell event uninvited and accused him of corruption.

The charge sheet also pointed out that Divya had asked a local TV channel to shoot the event, especially her speech.

The probe team also found out that she had sent the visuals of her speech from her mobile phone to several people, and that also finds a mention in the detailed charge sheet.

It also pointed out that they have not been able to recover any suicide note nor any leads to suspect that it was not a suicide but a murder, as doubted by the family of Babu.

Incidentally, the charge sheet is filed at a time when the Kerala High Court, early this month, dismissed a plea from Babu’s family seeking a CBI probe into the case.

Divya alleged that Babu delayed issuing a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for a petrol pump application by T. V. Prasanth, an electrician at Kannur Medical College.

Notably, Prasanth was reportedly a colleague of Divya’s husband, raising questions about possible personal motives.

A high-level internal departmental probe pointed out that there was no evidence of the bribery allegation against Babu, and he did not delay the sanctioning of the license.

Following the uproar, Divya was arrested. After being in jail for days, she secured bail and was released from the Kannur prison.

Now with the filing of the charge sheet, all eyes will be on the trial, which is expected to start shortly, and there are 82 witnesses from whom the statements have been taken.

Babu’s wife said that from what they have heard about the contents in the charge sheet, it is centered only on the suicide aspect and doesn’t mention anything about their fears and doubts.

“We will be approaching the Apex Court seeking a probe by a central agency,” she said.

IANS