Prosecution asks court not to forget ADM Naveen Babu's daughters; Noose tightens around PP Divya

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: On Thursday, CPM leader PP Divya repeated the corruption accusation against late ADM Naveen Babu in court. Meanwhile, the prosecution retorted mentioning Divya’s diatribe during the farewell function to be baneful and alleged the CPM leader of covertly recording the footage and later releasing it through the public domain to shame the ADM.

The attorney for ADM Naveen’s family alleged that the animosity sprouted after the ADM delayed giving NOC to the illegal petrol pump. Meanwhile, the defense argued that Divya’s words were twisted by the media and that the real intent was to bring out the corruption within the revenue offices.

“She is a mother of a little girl and her father’s health is also deteriorating” the defense informed the court while requesting bail.

The prosecution refuted it by reminding the court to focus on the daughters of Naveen Babu, who had to perform the final rites of their father due to some hurtful attacks made by Divya in public. Public Prosecutor K. Ajith Kumar, High Court lawyer John S. Ralph on behalf of Naveenbabu's family and K. Viswan on behalf of Divya appeared. After several hours of arguments, Divya's petition was moved for judgment on October 29th.

Prosecution:

• Collector states that Divya was not invited to the farewell meeting

• The Collector had told Divya not to raise the allegation of corruption on the stage

• There are vigilance and police systems to address complaints

• It is clear that there is no allegation of corruption in Gangadharan's complaint mentioned by Divya.

ADM’s family:

• Petrol pump approval does not come under the jurisdiction of the District Panchayat President

• Pump involves benami transaction. Divya's financial interest should be investigated

Defense:

• Divya is an award-winning politician and social worker.

• She called out the officer to end rampant corruption in revenue sections.

• Divya had earlier received two complaints against Naveen Babu.

• Why didn’t ADM Naveen Babu respond if he was innocent as portrayed by the prosecution?

Divya’s lawyer said that she would appear before police for questioning on Friday if granted bail. This means that she is still in Kannur. Legal experts slammed the CPM leader for challenging the court and law. This corroborates the allegation about police shielding Divya from arrest.