Former district panchayat president PP Divya remains in custody as Kerala local court rejects bail plea – Kerala News

Former Kannur district panchayat president and CPM leader PP Divya was taken into police custody on Tuesday (October 29) after she was denied bail by the local court.

Thalassery Principal Sessions Court issued the verdict in the case related to the death of Kannur Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Naveen Babu earlier in the day.

Speaking to the media, Kannur Police Commissioner Ajith Kumar said: “He has been taken into custody. We will now take the necessary action. “He will be questioned and then necessary action will be taken.”

When asked where he would be brought for interrogation, he said, “It’s a case at Kannur police station, it will be brought here.”

Responding to why the police had not taken any action so far, he said: “We did not want to take any action in a case that was under active judicial assessment.”

Ajith Kumar said the police immediately took him into custody after the court denied him bail.

THE SESSION COURT REJECTS THE CLAIM

Divya had moved the Thalassery Sessions Court on October 19 seeking bail after the police filed a case against her for abetting Babu’s suicide.

Although the CPM state secretariat did not initiate any party-level action against him, he was removed from the post of district panchayat president. The decision was taken by the party’s Kannur district secretariat soon after the police registered a case against it.

SUICIDE OF THE ADDITIONAL REGIONAL GOVERNMENT

Babu was found dead in his official residence in Kannur on the same day that Divya publicly accused him of corruption at the farewell ceremony.

At Babu’s send-off ceremony on October 14, Divya, who reportedly arrived at the event uninvited, spoke derogatorily about Babu. He criticized him for delaying the approval of a petrol pump in Chengalayi by months and questioned his integrity in granting him a no-objection certificate (NOC) just two days after he was transferred.

During the bail hearing, Divya told the court that her remarks against ADM were based on corruption complaints she had received against him. His lawyer said that the Kannur District Collector informed him about Babu’s farewell ceremony and asked if he would attend, to which he agreed.

Bail Petition Hearing

However, the prosecution submitted the statement of the District Collector, who stated that Divya was not invited and was specifically asked not to raise allegations of corruption at the event.

Babu’s family lawyer, along with the prosecution, opposed Divya’s bail and stated that Divya was dismissed as the District Panchayat President by the CPM after her arrest for allegedly abetting ADM’s suicide. The prosecution argued that Divya’s actions were “pre-planned” and said she could have tampered with the evidence. The prosecution also told the court that the Internal Revenue Service was uncooperative with its investigation.

Babu’s family welcomed the court’s decision. Reacting to the verdict, Babu’s widow Manjusha said: “The person who destroyed our lives must be arrested and we will do everything to get justice.”

With input from agencies