Kerala: CPI-M leader taken into custody in Kannur ADM suicide case

Kannur, Oct 29 (IANS) Hours after a court in Kerala on Tuesday rejected the anticipatory bail plea of CPI-M leader P.P. Divya in the Kannur Additional District Magistrate Naveen Babu suicide case, the police have taken her into custody.

Thalassery court, in a single-line order, said Divya’s anticipatory bail plea is being “denied”.

During the hearing on anticipatory bail plea, Divya’s counsel argued that she had no malicious intentions when she spoke about Babu and was just making a general statement against corruption.

However, the prosecution opposed her bail plea.

Divya was the only accused in the case and also soon quit her post as president of the Kannur district panchayath and went into hiding.

Ajith Kumar Kannur Commissioner of Police told the media that Divya has been taken into custody.

Kannur is the citadel of the ruling CPI-M and the district from which Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and state party secretary M.V. Govindan hail.

Congress and the BJP have been criticising the Chief Minister for not arresting her and instead the CPI-M was supporting the accused.

There has been a massive outrage in the state as Divya was on the run for the past 12 days after she was made an accused in the suicide case of Babu.

An official said that Divya is being questioned at the Crime Branch office in Kannur and is likely to be produced at the residence of the magistrate later in the day.

Divya was always touted to be a young leader who had a lot of potential to go up the ladder in both the party and politics.

Babu was found hanging on October 15 in his home, and a case against Divya for her remarks was registered on October 17 and since then she has been on the run.

She allegedly made some remarks on corruption while attacking Babu during a speech on October 14 that purportedly drove him to commit suicide the next day.

Reacting to the court order on Tuesday, Babu’s brother, a lawyer by profession, said they are happy that Divya has been denied the pre-arrest bail.

“Now if she approaches the High Court, we will file an affidavit against it. We are fighting a legal battle and not a political battle. The police could have arrested her but failed to arrest her. We only seek a fair trial in the case,” said Babu’s brother.

Babu’s wife, reacting to the denial of pre-arrest bail to Divya, said the police must arrest her.

“The inquest and post mortem of my husband was done before our family members reached Kannur. I am also an official in the same department, so I know how he worked,” said Babu’s wife.

Leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan said the office of the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was shielding the accused.

“Everyone knows that the accused has been protected by the office of Vijayan. It’s unfortunate that the law and order in the state has collapsed. The government and the CPI-M are protecting the accused,” said Satheesan.

–IANS

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