Kannur: A day after corruption charges were raised against erstwhile Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Naveen Babu by the Kannur District Panchayat president, he was found dead at his residence. He was found hanging in his quarters at Pallikkunnu here on Tuesday. 

A farewell event for the Additional District Magistrate (ADM) held here on the previous day took a bizarre turn after a speech about the official ended up in chiding. Kannur District Panchayat president and CPM leader P P Divya raised serious corruption allegations against Naveen Babu during his farewell related to transfer.

Divya, during her speech, noted that one must always uphold integrity in life and that the individual should not engage in activities like those he has undertaken in Kannur at his new position. Interestingly, the dramatic episode occurred in the presence of the Collector, who attended the farewell meeting for the ADM.

Divya accused the ADM of attempting to manipulate the process for granting a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for a petrol pump. She claimed to have all the details regarding this and stated she would reveal them if necessary.

"There have been several occasions in the past when I needed to call the previous ADM and discuss matters. However, since he (Naveen Babu) has come, there haven’t been any such situations. I did call him once regarding the NOC for a petrol pump in Chengalayi. I requested him to visit the site. I had to call him again for the same request, and later he informed me that he had visited the site,” she said, noting that the NOC applicant had come to her multiple times, stating that no proactive action had been taken.

“I later learned that he mentioned it would be difficult to grant the NOC due to the curviness of the area. This incident occurred a few months ago. Now that he is leaving, I have learned that the entrepreneur has received the NOC. In any case, that’s good, but I know how that NOC was obtained. I am here at this event to thank him for granting the NOC,” she said.

"You should help people in a more effective way. Government service is only a moment away from anything happening. We should all be prepared to act with that moment in mind. I will be leaving before the refreshments are served, and there is a specific reason for that. You will all know that reason in two days," she added, hinting that the official is soon to face action.