Kannur: The investigation into the death of Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Naveen Babu is expected to conclude within a week, according to A. Geetha, the Land Revenue Joint Commissioner. On Saturday, she confirmed that the investigation report would soon be submitted. PP Divya, CPM’s former District Panchayat President, has requested additional time to provide her statement in connection with the probe.

A. Geetha also revealed that the statement of Prashanth had already been recorded. Further evidence, including video footage, has been collected. She stated that more statements could be recorded if deemed necessary.

Kannur District Collector Arun K. Vijayan was excluded from the investigation on Thursday and A. Geetha, has been charged with leading the investigation. The decision to transfer him from the case was taken following instructions from Revenue and Housing Minister K Rajan. 

The family of Naveen Babu had earlier raised concerns against the collector. They alleged that the Collector and the ADM had a strained relationship, which was highlighted in their statement to the investigating team in Kannur. Naveen Babu had reportedly faced strict restrictions regarding his leave, and there were delays in executing his transfer, even after the order was issued. 

Divya claimed in her bail petition that she attended Naveen Babu's farewell meeting only because she was invited by the Kannur Collector. However, the collector has clarified that he did not invite Divya to the farewell function. The collector stressed that the function had been arranged by the staff council, not by him. He emphasised that, as he was not the organiser, he was not responsible for inviting anyone. In Divya’s petition, she said that she had no intention of insulting the ADM and was named as accused out of political interest. 

Naveen Babu was found dead by suicide at his quarters in Pallikkunnu, Kannur, on Tuesday morning. The tragic incident occurred just a day after Divya publicly humiliated him during his farewell meeting, accusing him of engaging in corrupt practices. Divya had alleged that the ADM was involved in issuing a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for a petrol pump under questionable circumstances, and she claimed to have documents that would support her accusations. She indicated that she would release these documents at an appropriate time. 

Following Naveen Babu's death, the CPM district leadership removed her from the post of district panchayat president.