A day after the hearing on the anticipatory bail plea of CPI-M leader P. P. Divya whose curt remarks led to the suicide of Kannur Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Naveen Babu, was deferred till Thursday by a local court, a departmental probe on Tuesday gave a clean chit to the deceased.
In the departmental probe conducted by a top senior revenue official, it has been found that Babu had followed all procedures and that there was no delay in clearing the file sanctioning a petrol pump, nor was there any evidence to prove what the applicant had said that he had to pay Rs 98,500 as bribe to Babu.
Incidentally, Divya, while attending Babu’s send-off function held here on October 14, even though she was not invited, said that a person's application for a petrol station was delayed and she knew how Babu gave the sanction later, which she said she would reveal in two days.
Babu, who has been widely appreciated for his clean official life and conduct and was to retire in seven months, felt deeply humiliated by her remarks and took the extreme step.
Following the tragic incident, the person who applied for the petrol station, identified as T. P. Prasanth who works as an electrician in the state-run Medical College at Kannur, was a colleague and friend of Divya’s husband.
A week after Babu was found hanging in his official residence, Divya who held the post of the Kannur district panchayat president quit due to pressures from several quarters. Kannur has been witnessing protests by Congress and BJP every day.
Divya has been missing from the public glare since last week after the ADM's death and on Monday, a local court adjourned her anticipatory bail plea to Thursday.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, while attending a political meeting, categorically stated that Divya will have to go through the legal process and there will be no protection of any kind given to her.
Eyebrows were raised on how an electrician could afford to acquire a petrol pump and more importantly, a person working in a government organisation cannot engage in a private business.
On Tuesday, a top health official will be looking into the employment details of Prasanth as State Health Minister Veena George has stated that he will find it difficult to keep his job.
Prasanth, on Monday, was seen running away from the media after he came to give his statement before the police probe team. However, last week, he had invited the media to his house and had pointed out that he had to wait for long to get the sanction and got it after he had paid the bribe to Babu.
Trouble is further looming for Prasanth as it surfaced that in the lease rental agreement, the signatory is shown as Prasanth, while in the complaint letter to the Chief Minister which stated that Babu had taken a bribe of Rs 98,500 from him, is written as T. V. Prasanthan and the signatures in the two documents are also different.
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