Kannur: The investigation into the death of former Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Naveen Babu will be handed over to the CBI after the government accepted the family's demand. An official notification is expected shortly.
Naveen Babu was found hanging in his quarters on October 15, 2024, a day after a farewell function marking his transfer from Kannur Collectorate to Pathanamthitta. The case triggered widespread controversy after senior CPM leader and then Kannur District Panchayat President PP Divya publicly raised bribery allegations against him during the event.
Questions later emerged over the circumstances surrounding the farewell meeting. Critics alleged that a function initially scheduled for the morning was shifted to the afternoon to suit Divya's convenience and questioned how she attended despite reportedly not being invited. Allegations were also raised against the then district collector.
During the meeting, Divya allegedly portrayed Naveen Babu as corrupt. Her speech was recorded and circulated widely. The next morning, the officer was found dead by hanging at his residence.
Police treated the case as a suicide and filed a final report naming Divya as an accused for abetment of suicide. However, Naveen Babu's family maintained that there were suspicious circumstances surrounding the death and argued he was unlikely to have taken his own life. Their earlier plea for a CBI probe was opposed by the then government, and the court subsequently rejected the request.
The controversy deepened when a person surfaced with a copy of an alleged bribery complaint against Naveen Babu. However, the government, revenue authorities and Vigilance Department later stated through RTI replies provided to advocate Kulathoor Jayasingh that no such complaint had been received.