A court in Kannur, Kerala, on Monday ordered a further probe into the death of late Additional District Magistrate (ADM) K. Naveen Babu.
Babu was found dead on October 14, 2024 at his official residence in Kannur, allegedly after CPI(M) leader P.P. Divya made remarks against him during a farewell event.
Thalassery Additional Sessions Court Judge Titty George, in a common order, allowed two petitions filed by Babu’s family seeking further investigation and the production of the Call Data Records (CDR) of Ms. Divya’s official mobile phone.
It was alleged that Ms. Divya, then Kannur district panchayat president, arrived uninvited at Babu’s farewell function and levelled corruption charges against him publicly.
The police registered a case in connection with the incident and later filed a chargesheet in the magistrate court against Ms. Divya for abetment of suicide.
As per the court diary, petitions filed by the family stating that the police probe was incomplete on August 8, 2025 and another petition filed on February 28 seeking production of additional documents were allowed.
Lawyers associated with the case told PTI that the court has directed police to conduct further investigation into a few aspects of the case.
According to them, the court has asked police to investigate whether T.V. Prashanthan, who alleged that Babu demanded a bribe from him for starting a petrol pump, had met him at Pallikunnu.
Similarly, the police were directed to check whether Mr. Prashanthan had filed a corruption complaint against Babu with the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) and what action was taken on it, they said.
The court also directed police to verify Mr. Prashanthan’s claim that he had taken a gold loan to allegedly pay a bribe to Babu.
The family, in its petition, had requested the court to record the statement of a Minister, which was not approved by the court, a lawyer said.
The court has directed police to file a report after conducting a further probe when the case is taken up again on May 30.
Published – March 16, 2026 03:33 pm IST
