Kannur ADM death: Kerala Opposition Leader asks whether District Collector aided interests of P.P. Divya

V.D. Satheesan blames Kannur District Collector Arun K. Vijayan for ‘not stopping’ Divya from raising allegations of corruption against Naveen Babu at his farewell

Kerala’s Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan on Friday (October 18, 2024) blamed Kannur District Collector Arun K. Vijayan for “not stopping” Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader and former Kannur district panchayat president P.P. Divya from raising allegations of corruption against the late Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Naveen Babu at his farewell meeting on October 14.

Mr. Satheesan asked whether the District Collector had changed the schedule of the meeting, which was initially planned in the morning, to evening in order to ensure the presence of Ms. Divya.

“The Collector should have stopped her from attending a meeting in which there was no invitation for her. At least, he should have stopped her while she was insulting Naveen at his farewell function by pointing out that it was an internal programme,” Mr. Satheesan told mediapersons here.

Naveen Babu, who was due to be transferred to his native place Pathanamthitta, was found hanging at his house in Kannur on October 15 after he had failed to board the scheduled morning train.

‘CPI(M) must apologise’

Mr. Satheesan accused the CPI(M) of having fabricated a corruption allegation against the official even after his death in order to protect Ms. Divya. “A scrutiny of the files [related to the no-objection certificate allotted by the ADM for a petrol pump] revealed that there was no corruption in it. The CPI(M) should tender an apology to his family and the people of the State for fabricating such a baseless allegation against him that resulted in his tragic death,” he said.

Published - October 18, 2024 04:17 pm IST