Decision on PP Divya's bail plea on Friday; Defence counsel reiterates bribery charge against ADM

Thalassery: The decision on former Kannur District Panchayat president P P Divya's bail application in connection with the death of Kannur Additional District Magistrate (ADM) K Naveen Babu has been postponed to Friday. Even as the arguments in the case have been completed before Thalassery Principal District and Sessions Court Judge K T Nisar Ahmad, Divya’s lawyer argued that the ADM had confessed to accepting a bribe, and claimed that there was no incitement to suicide in Divya's speech. 

Her lawyer also said that Divya had cooperated with the investigation and pointed out that the visuals had not been deliberately disseminated.

The testimony of the Kannur Collector, stating that Naveen Babu had said he had made a mistake, is evidence that Naveen Babu had accepted a bribe. It is stated in the inquiry report prepared by the Health Department regarding the suspension of Prashanth from Pariyaram Medical College that he had given a bribe to the ADM. Divya's lawyer requested that this document be accepted as evidence of Naveen Babu's bribe-taking.

Evidence of a loan of Rs 1 Lakh against gold pawned was also presented, with the argument being that this money was used to pay the bribe. The defence pointed out that Naveen Babu had called Prashanth several times and presented phone records as evidence. Some CCTV footage was also presented to support the claim that Prashanth and Naveen Babu had met.

The prosecution, on the other hand, argued that there is no evidence of Naveen Babu accepting a bribe and stated that the call records cannot be considered as evidence. Public prosecutor K Ajith Kumar contended that if bail is granted, Divya would influence witnesses and obstruct the investigation. They pointed out that no corruption allegations have been made against Naveen Babu so far, and the current claims are solely from Prashanth. The prosecution also argued that the visuals from the farewell ceremony were deliberately disseminated.

Adv K Viswan represented Divya in the bail application, while Adv John S Ralph represented Naveen Babu's wife Manjusha.

CPM leader P P Divya was arrested on October 29, hours after the Thalassery District Sessions Court dismissed her anticipatory bail application.

Divya had been in hiding and filed the anticipatory bail application after being charged with abetment of suicide in connection with the ADM's death. 

Later the Judicial First-Class Magistrate Court approved the request by the special investigation team, allowing Divya to remain in custody until 5 pm on November 1 for further interrogation.

The investigation team initially sought two days of custody, but the court approved custody only until 5 pm on Friday. 

The police had registered a case on October 17 on charges of abetment to suicide based on a complaint by Naveen Babu’s brother K Praveen Babu. Following this, Divya, who had resigned from her post as district panchayat president and gone into hiding, submitted an anticipatory bail application, which was dismissed on October 29 morning by Sessions Court Judge K T Nisar Ahmed.