Kannur: Former district panchayat president and CPM Kannur district committee member PP Divya, who was under judicial custody in the case related to the death of Additional District Magistrate K Naveen Babu, was granted bail by the Thalassery Sessions Court on Friday.
"The court's decision is unexpected," Naveen’s wife, Manjusha, said following the verdict. She had opposed the bail application and joined the plea as a party. Amid allegations that Manjusha's statement was not recorded before the bail hearing, authorities have now decided to record her statement in Pathanamthitta within the next two days.
Divya is presently held at the Pallikkunnu Women’s Jail. She surrendered after the Thalassery Principal Sessions Court denied her anticipatory bail in the case registered by the Town Police. The CPM removed her from all elected party posts on Thursday as part of disciplinary action.
An investigative report from the Director of Medical Education indicates that Prasanth, a businessman, had allegedly bribed the ADM to gain approval of a fuel pump licence. According to a statement by Collector Arun Vijayan, Naveen Babu admitted that he committed a 'mistake' after a snubbing at the farewell meeting by Divya. Divya’s lawyer argued that this is equivalent to an admission of taking a bribe. Prasanth reportedly confirmed to the police that he bribed the ADM for the license, and the defence argued that CCTV footage substantiates meetings between the ADM and Prasanth.
The prosecution, however, opposed Divya’s bail, arguing she could influence witnesses if released. They claimed there was no conclusive evidence against the ADM in the bribery accusation and denied any delay by the ADM in issuing the fuel pump rejection notice. Representing the ADM’s family, the lawyer asserted that Divya did not cooperate with the investigation and questioned the accuracy of Divya's claim about the ADM’s confession to the Collector, who was reportedly not close to Naveen. They argued that a confession would be unlikely to someone with whom the ADM had no rapport and questioned why no action was taken against Prasanth if the bribery allegations were valid.
PP Divya surrendered 14 days after the ADM’s death, having been charged with abetment of suicide. Earlier, her anticipatory bail plea had been dismissed by Thalassery Principal Sessions Judge KT Nisar Ahmed. Divya had attended a farewell event for Naveen Babu, who was soon to be transferred to Pathanamthitta, and her criticism the next day allegedly hinted that the ADM had delayed the pump’s rejection notice due to a bribe request, according to her speech. However, the Revenue Department’s investigation found no evidence that Naveen Babu had accepted any bribe. Following the controversy, the CPM removed Divya from her position as district president.
Divya, who is a DYFI central committee member and vice-president of the Democratic Women’s Association, became the Kannur district panchayat president at the age of 36, winning the Kalyassery division seat with a majority of 22,576 votes. In the previous panchayat administration, she had served as vice president.