Kannur ADM's Death: Divya Says Collector Invited Her To Farewell; Collector Responds...

As the controversy in connection with the death of Kannur Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Naveen Babu fuels, with P.P. Divya being charged with the abetment of suicide, the former Kannur district panchayat president today claimed she attended ADM’s farewell party on District Collector’s invitation.

A day after Kannur town police had registered a case against her, Divya today moved an anticipatory bail at a Court, while stating that she reached the function at the invitation of District Collector Arun K. Vijayan in her bail plea. CPI(M) Konni area committee member and CITU state committee member Malayalappuzha Mohanan, also Naveen Babu’s cousin, meanwhile, accused the collector of manipulating the farewell event for the outgoing ADM.

Read Also: What Caused Kannur ADM Naveen Babu’s Death – Why Family Seeks Action Against PP Divya?

The CPM leader also claimed that Naveen Babu initially disagreed with holding a farewell meeting, disputing the need for such a party since he was not retiring. Despite this, Mohanan says, the collector insisted on holding the event and changed its timing from the morning to the afternoon to facilitate Divya. Earlier, it was reported that Divya was not invited to the farewell function, in which she made corruption allegations against Naveen Babu, humiliating the officer at his farewell.

Babu was found dead in his official quarters in Kannur on Tuesday morning, a day after the farewell party. The officer, who was supposed to leave for his home in Pathanamthitta, appeared depressed after the program, according to his driver, and left for his quarters instead of the railway station the night. As per reports, the officer took his own life due to the humiliation he faced at the farewell event.

Notably, the collector has issued an apology to the family of the ADM, expressing his remorse regarding the events surrounding the farewell meeting. He had also expressed his desire to attend Babu’s funeral, which was declined by the officer’s family.

However, with the collector name surfacing, he has been suspected of being part of a conspiracy against the late ADM. Opposition Leader V.D. Satheesan has blamed the collector for not stopping Divya from raising allegations of corruption against Babu during his farewell.