ADM death probe: Why Prasanth's brother-in-law is a person of interest in the case

Kasaragod: Kannur Town Police, investigating the suicide of Kannur Additional District Magistrate Naveen Babu K, on Friday questioned AK Rajeesh, the brother-in-law of TV Prasanth who accused the late official of taking a bribe to issue a no-objection certificate (NoC) for his fuel station. Rajeesh (44), a native of Thimiri in Kannur's Alakode panchayat, had previously filed multiple complaints against the then ADM of Kasaragod Devidas N alleging he had taken bribe to grant an NoC for a fuel outlet. The complaint was similar to one that was purportedly submitted by Prasanth to the Chief Minister against Naveen Babu and almost cost the ADM his promotion as an IAS officer.

Rajeesh also operates an unlicensed Bharat Petroleum fuel station in Kasaragod district, according to revenue and police officials. The outlet named AK Group Fuels petrol pump is located at Odayamchal on the Kanhangad-Panathur State Highway in Kasaragod. The fuel station's trade licence issued by the panchayat expired on March 31, 2022, said the Assistant Secretary of Kodom-Belur grama panchayat, a CPM bastion. "The panchayat served notices to the petrol station but he has not even applied for the renewal," said the official. 

The panchayat authorities did not take any steps to end the operations despite knowing that the outlet functioned without the mandatory trade licence.The police department did a discreet survey of Rajeesh's fuel station after Naveen Babu took his own life on October 15, 2023. "We have given a report to the higher-up saying the fuel station does not have a functional toilet or panchayat licence," said a police officer.  A DYFI leader at Odayanchal said there were problems with the drainage in front of the fuel station, too

In 2018, Rajeesh filed a complaint against the then Kasaragod ADM, Devidas N, accusing him of accepting a bribe to issue an NOC for a Hindustan Petroleum fuel station at Parappally, on the same state highway, 9.3 km from his own pump at Odayanchal. In his complaint, Rajeesh stated that there was government land between the highway and the plot where the proposed fuel station was to come up. He also claimed that the plot had originally been assigned to a member of the Scheduled Tribe community and could not legally be used for commercial purposes and filed another complaint with the Kerala State Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. 

At the time these allegations surfaced, Devidas was on the verge of being awarded the IAS. "The government has to send its recommendations. I cannot say if the complaints were the reason for the delay but it may be a reason," Devidas, who is now Kollam Collector, told Onmanorama. Devidas gave the NoC to the Hindustan Petroleum fuel station on the condition that it took the government land on lease to access the road. "The NoC became an NoC only if the condition is met," he said.

Officials said the lock-in or prohibitory period for using land assigned to tribespeople for commercial purposes is 12 years. Since that particular plot was assigned in the 1980s, it is well past the lock-in period, they said. "Moreover, it was the sub-collector's job to check the nature of the land," said an official. The government instituted an inquiry into Rajeesh's complaints and absolved Devidas from all allegations.

In 2021, he was awarded IAS from the select list of 2018. According to a 2010 writ petition filed by Rajeesh in the High Court of Kerala, he is also a dealer of Hindustan Petroleum. On October 5, 2010, he moved the High Court challenging Hindustan Petroleum's notification for granting a new retail outlet near his fuel station. Five years later on May 28, 2015, Justice K Vinod Chandran dismissed the petition saying he had no locus standi or legal right to bring the lawsuit in court.

Multiple calls made to Rajeesh went unattended. He did not reply to the questions WhatsApped to his number either. Onmanorma asked him why the police found him a person of interest in the investigation into the ADM's death; if he was an investor in Prashanthan's fuel station; and why he had not renewed the licence for his fuel station in Kasaragod.

The DYFI leader quoted above said that Rajeesh often claimed to be a family friend of CPM State Secretary MV Govindan. "He told us to reach out to him if we need anything done," said the leader, referring to CPM State Secretary MV Govindan. When asked if Rajeesh was merely name-dropping, the DYFI leader insisted otherwise. "They are indeed family friends," he said.

A senior official in Kasaragod Collectorate also vouched for it. "Rajeesh's mother is a leader of CPM's women's wing and they are close to Govindan," he said. The police had booked former Kannur District Panchayat President PP Divya for abetting Naveen Babu's suicide after she implied that he took bribes to issue an NoC for the fuel station. After that, she resigned from her post and approached the court for anticipatory bail. Soon after Naveen Babu's death, Prashanthan publicly said he gave Rs 98,500 to the ADM for the NoC. He reiterated the allegations to the police in his statement.