Senior official death: Kerala Human Rights Commission initiates case, seeks report

Thiruvananthapuram | The Kerala State Human Rights Commission on Wednesday initiated a case on a complaint seeking action against Kannur district panchayat president, P P Divya, in connection with the death of Additional District Magistrate Naveen Babu.

The Commission's judicial member, K Byjunath, issued a notice to the district administration and directed the District Collector and District Police Chief to investigate the matter and file a report within two weeks.

The direction came on the complaint by lawyer V Devdas, the Commission said in a release.

Devdas alleged that Babu was insulted by Divya, a CPI(M) leader, at his farewell function where she was not invited and therefore, he committed suicide, the release said.

The Commission will consider the matter next on November 19 at a sitting to be held at the Kannur government guest house, it said.

The complaint has demanded compensation for Babu's family and employment for his dependents.

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 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.