Court order does not contain my full statement: Kannur Collector on ADM's admission of 'mistake'

Kannur: District Collector Arun Vijayan said here on Wednesday that the court order on the anticipatory bail plea of former Kannur District Panchayat President P P Divya doesn't reflect his full statement. "The details now surfacing are part of the court order, but it does not contain my entire statement. However, I am not going to disclose it here. Further details are yet to come," he said.

The order issued by the Thalassery Sessions court dismissing the anticipatory bail plea of P P Divya produced a part of Collector's statement which said that Kannur Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Naveen Babu, who allegedly died by suicide, met him in his chamber after the farewell meeting and he said he had made a mistake. In response to this portion of his statement in the court order, the Collector said that it doesn't reflect his full statement.

Naveen Babu was found dead in his official residence on October 15, a day after P P Divya came to his farewell meeting and made accusatory comments against him. She was arrested by police on Tuesday after her bail plea was rejected and was remanded to judicial custody.

Arun Vijayan added that he could not comment further as the investigation was ongoing. When questioned about the remarks on the former ADM Naveen Babu he said that he can only state the truth as it is. He remained evasive in his response to the press and said that it is for the investigation team to find our more details.

The court's order notes that while Naveen Babu told the Collector that he made a mistake, it cannot be taken as an admission of receiving bribe or other form of corruption. "Even otherwise, if the deceased is a person who has no integrity and had received bribe, the accused on getting the information ought to have set the law in motion by approaching appropriate law enforcing authority," the order noted.

With the statement of the Collector pointing at ADM admitting to a mistake, the Special Investigation team will have to unravel the reasons that led to Naveen Babu's death. The Pathanamthitta native died by suicide in his official residence on October 15.

Earlier, in his letter to Naveen Babu's family he had praised the former ADM for his dedication. "He was my dear colleague I could entrust with any kind of official assignment. I had known him for eight months. He always did his duty with efficiency and compassion. He worked shoulder to shoulder with me," Arun Vijayan had said.

Meanwhile K Viswan, Advocate representing P P Divya said that he will file an application to seek CCTV footage which showed petrol pump NoC applicant appearing at the Vigilance office in Kannur on September 14.