Kannur: Talipparamba Magistrate on Tuesday remanded former Kannur district panchayat president PP Divya to two weeks in jail in the case related to ADM K Naveen Babu’s suicide. Manorama News reported that she would be transferred to the women's jail at Pallikkunnu.
Youth Congress, Youth League and Yuva Morcha activists staged protests in front of the magistrate's residence. There was a scuffle between the police and the protesters who arrived carrying black flags.
Earlier, Kannur Police recorded Divya's arrest after a local court rejected her anticipatory bail plea. They took her into custody while she was on her way to surrender. The Thalassery Principal Sessions Court denied her anticipatory bail on Tuesday morning. Divya was brought to the district hospital following her arrest for a medical examination.
Though police said she was taken into custody, sources said Divya surrendered at a mutually agreed-upon location. Manorama Online reported that two CPM workers were present with her.
However, Police Commissioner Ajith Kumar said that Divya was taken into custody. He said the CPM leader was under constant surveillance, which helped the police take her into custody easily.
A CPM district committee member, Divya was removed from her position as district panchayat president after allegations surfaced of her role in abetting Naveen Babu’s suicide.
The government’s investigation, however, found no evidence suggesting that Naveen Babu had accepted bribes or violated the law granting a petrol pump license. The delay in taking Divya into custody had sparked severe criticism from political circles. Naveen Babu’s family had also demanded her arrest.
