Kannur/Pathanamthitta (Kerala) | The BJP on Wednesday held a protest march to the residence of district panchayat president P P Divya at Kannur seeking her resignation in connection with the death of a senior district administration official.
Additional District Magistrate (ADM), Kannur, Naveen Babu K, who was supposed to reach his home district of Pathanamthitta on Tuesday morning to take charge as ADM there, was found hanging in his quarters a day after facing corruption allegations from the district panchayat president during his farewell ceremony.
The protestors walked up to the barricades set up by police around one kilometer away from Divya's home and shouted slogans against her and the CPI(M). They also demanded her resignation.
Meanwhile, Revenue officials protested at the Pathanamthitta District Collectorate over the death of the ADM and the allegations made against him by Divya.
The officials said that Babu was a honest and hardworking person and they were also looking forward to working with him once he took charge as ADM of Pathanamthitta. "However, tragic news is what we got," one of the protestors told TV channels.
At his farewell ceremony organised by his colleagues and attended by district Collector Arun K Vijayan, the ADM faced allegations of corruption from Divya, who allegedly attended the event without an official invitation.
The death of Babu, allegedly by suicide, has sparked a row in the state, with the opposition Congress and the BJP seeking her resignation.
The Congress has alleged that the humiliation Babu suffered from Divya during his send-off ceremony was the reason for his extreme step. They have also demanded that Divya be arrested.
The death of the official came to light when his wife, a tehsildar, and their children went to Chengannur railway station on Tuesday morning to receive Babu, who was supposed to take charge as ADM Pathanamthitta, later in the day.
When Babu was not found on the train, the family tried to reach him on his mobile phone, but it went unanswered.
They subsequently contacted his colleagues in Kannur, and during their search, they found Babu hanging in his quarters.
The CPI(M) had expressed condolences following the untimely death of Babu.
In a statement, the party said the remarks made by the district panchayat president at the farewell meeting were merely well-intentioned criticism against corruption. However, the party stated that she should have refrained from such comments during the send-off meeting.
The CPI(M) has also called for a thorough investigation by the government into all the complaints that have emerged in light of recent events.
