The tragic suicide of Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Naveen Babu in Kannur district, allegedly following a public rebuke by district panchayat president PP Divya, has kicked up a huge storm in Kerala. The storm, in fact, is growing stronger despite Divya resigning from the post. Naveen was found dead at his residence on Tuesday, a day after Divya raised corruption allegations against him during his farewell function, in the presence of the media.
She criticised the ADM for delaying approval for a petrol pump for months, and claimed that he granted approval only two days after being transferred, hinting at a correlation. That Divya reached the function uninvited, with a battery of media persons, raises suspicion whether she was working to a plot. News reports which appeared in various media, hailing Divya for “calling out a corrupt official’’ only add to this suspicion.
The deceased ADM’s family has filed a police complaint against Divya, linking his death to the trauma caused by her allegations. A case of abetment to suicide has now been filed against Divya, invoking several non-bailable sections, including 194 BNSS,108 BNS, 174 CrPC and 306, which carry a maximum jail term of 10 years.
The State Human Rights Commission, too, has registered a case and issued notice to the district administration, based on a complaint demanding legal action against Divya. The issue is appearing murkier as more details tumble out -- from ownership of the petrol pump, to undue haste in giving sanctions, to the alleged complaint filed by the owner with the CM against the deceased, and the silence of the district collector.
Whatever the charges, Divya’s actions smack of arrogance and excessive authority that seem to infect all levels of administration. If she had proof of corruption, she ought to have adopted procedurally kosher and foolproof ways to deal with it; public humiliation belongs to an older order.
As Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan rightly said, it was unfortunate that someone who has served the state for a long time died in such a tragic manner. A detailed investigation into the entire episode is needed. Though it will not bring back a life lost, fair action will at least give some semblance of justice to a person who was, in a way, forced to take his life. The system owes him that.
