ADM suicide in Kerala: CPI-M leader Divya not getting bail before arrest

Kannur, October 29 (IANS): Overturning the CPI-M verdict, a Kerala court on Tuesday rejected PP leader Divya’s bail plea in the Kannur suicide case of Additional District Judge Naveen Babu.

The Thalassery court, in a single-line order, said Divya’s bail plea was “rejected”.

Babu was found hanging in her house on October 15 and a case was registered against Divya on October 17 for her terse remarks and she has been in hiding since then.

She allegedly made remarks about corruption, attacking Babu during a speech on October 14, which allegedly drove him to commit suicide the next day.

Reacting to Tuesday’s court order, Babu’s brother, a lawyer by profession, expressed satisfaction that Divya was denied pre-arrest bail.

“Now if she approaches the Supreme Court, we will file our affidavit against her. We are fighting a legal battle, not a political one. The police could have arrested her, but they didn’t arrest her. We only want a fair trial in this case,” Brother Babu said.

Babu’s wife, reacting to Divya’s refusal to grant pre-arrest bail, stated that the police must arrest her.

“The inquest and autopsy of my husband were conducted before our family members reached Kannur, where it was done. I’m not saying he was a clean official just because he’s my husband, but everyone knows who he is. I am also an official in the same department, so I know how he worked,” Babu’s wife said.

Opposition leader VD Satheesan said that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s office was shielding the accused.

“Everyone knows that the accused was protected by Vijayan’s office. It is a pity that law and order in the country has been disturbed. The government and CPI-M are protecting the accused,” Satheesan said.

During the anticipatory bail hearing, Divya’s lawyer argued that while talking about Babu, she had no ill intentions and was just making a general statement against corruption.

The prosecutor’s office opposed her requests for bail.