Kannur is being rocked by widespread protests over the death of Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Naveen Babu K, demanding action against Kannur District Panchayat President P P Divya, even as the Revenue Minister K Rajan said the government had not received any complaint against him.
Naveen Babu was found dead in his quarters on Tuesday morning, a day after Divya, a popular CPM leader, gatecrashed his farewell meeting and subtly accused him of taking a bribe to sanction a fuel station in Chengalayi panchayat.
Minister Rajan called Naveen Babu an honest official and said that the government had not received any complaint against him. "He was a capable and honest official, someone in whom responsibility could be confidently entrusted," he said and added that he has asked for a preliminary report on the matter from District Collector Arun K Vijayan.
The minister had a word of caution for Divya. "People's representatives, regardless of who they are, should display maturity in their words, actions, and interactions in public life," he said.
Meanwhile, the Congress, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and the BJP took out protest marches to the district panchayat office demanding the resignation of Divya and a police case against her for abetting the death of the ADM. The youth organisations of these parties also held protest marches, with slogan shouters calling Divya a "Dracula."
Regardless of their political affiliations, government employees took out a united protest in the Kannur Collectorate, demanding action against Divya.
DCC President Martin George said that if Divya had evidence against Naveen Babu, she should have approached the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau for appropriate action. "Divya is not just a District Panchayat President. She is an influential leader of the CPM, which is heading the government in the state. She should have trusted her own government and initiated legal proceedings against Naveen instead of publicly trying him in his farewell meeting," he said.
Naveen Babu was transferred to his home district of Pathanamthitta as he had only six more months of service in the Department of Revenue. "She went to the farewell meeting where she was not invited. The Collector chaired the meeting, and it was open only to Revenue officials. But she went there and publicly humiliated Naveen Babu," he said.
At the farewell meeting, she said the ADM sanctioned the fuel station in Chengalayi panchayat after much delay, and she knew how he gave the NOC. She also said she would make the evidence public in two days, hinting that the fuel station was given sanction after he took a bribe.
After Naveen Babu's death, fuel station owner Prashanthan TV also alleged that he paid Rs 98,500 to the ADM on October 6, and the official gave the NOC for the fuel station on October 8. He said he had WhatsApped his complaint against the official to the Chief Minister on October 10, on the advice of Divya.
'Divya no different from SI who drove auto driver to end life'
Kannur District Panchayat President PP Divya is no different from suspended Kasaragod SI Anoop P, who drove an autorickshaw driver to take his own life, said Kasaragod Lok Sabha MP Rajmohan Unnithan. "The only difference is that Anoop wears a khaki uniform. Both draw their arrogance and defiance from their position," the Congress leader said.
On October 7, Kasaragod's autorickshaw driver Abdul Sathar (57) took his own life after the sub-inspector illegally impounded his vehicle and refused to release it for five days. The government suspended him and initiated an inquiry against him after a video of the same officer using force on another officer went viral.
Unnithan alleged ADM Naveen Babu took his own life only because of the public humiliation inflicted on him by Divya during his farewell meeting. "Divya went to the meeting uninvited and accused him of being corrupt, driven by the arrogance that she wouldn’t be held accountable by the government," he said. If the government is accountable to the people, it will book and arrest her for abetment of the suicide of Naveen Babu, Unnithan said.