The Keralam Cabinet led by V.D. Satheesan has decided to transfer Additional District Magistrate Naveen Babu’s mysterious death to a CBI enquiry. The Cabinet also decided to give a dependent appointment to the daughter of the deceased.
Naveen Babu’s family members were not satisfied with the enquiry the state police had been carrying out. Therefore, they had demanded a CBI enquiry into the death of the head of their family. But the erstwhile CPM-controlled Left Democratic Front (LDF) government, led by CPM supremo Pinarayi Vijayan, had been ignoring it.
On October 15, 2024, ADM Naveen Babu was found hanging at his residence in Pallikkunnu, Kannur district.
The previous evening, his colleagues had hosted a farewell for him as he had been transferred to his home district.
During that event, P.P. Divya, the then Kannur District Panchayat President and senior CPM leader, stormed into the venue despite not having been invited. She took the mic in her hand and started levelling serious allegations against him. She had allegedly brought with her the crew of a local TV channel when she came there. The channel telecast the visuals of the allegation drama that evening.
Naveen Babu, an officer of who is known to have untainted integrity, could not stand it. People close to Babu believe that he could not tolerate the insult caused by Divya’s comments and hence committed suicide.
It is to be noted that Naveen Babu and his family members were ardent CPM followers.
The demand for a CBI probe had gained momentum following legal and political developments after Naveen Babu’s death. His wife, Manjusha, approached the courts alleging that the state police investigation had failed to examine several crucial aspects of the case.
While the Kerala High Court initially declined to transfer the investigation to the CBI, the family continued its legal battle, maintaining that the circumstances surrounding his death required a more comprehensive and independent probe.
Subsequently, a court ordered further investigation into specific aspects of the case, including examination of the official mobile phone of former Kannur District Panchayat President P.P. Divya, verification of corruption allegations levelled against Naveen Babu, and related documentary evidence. The court observed that these aspects warranted closer scrutiny.
The controversy took a political turn in February 2025 when senior CPM leader M.V. Jayarajan reportedly acknowledged that Divya’s remarks at the farewell function had contributed to the events that followed. Around the same period, Divya had already been removed from her position as Kannur District Panchayat President and a police case had been registered against her in connection with the incident.
Throughout the period, Naveen Babu’s family, the BJP and several Hindu organisations continued to press for a CBI investigation, alleging that the deceased had been publicly humiliated and subjected to a coordinated campaign that ultimately pushed him into a corner. The state government’s latest decision to hand over the case to the CBI comes after sustained demands for an independent enquiry into the circumstances leading to his death.
