THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: There are indications that the stubbornness of leaders in Kannur, who are closely associated with the administration, is behind the continuance of CPM protection for accused PP Divya even after 13 days of the suicide of ADM Naveen Babu.

The decision taken by the CPM state secretariat, which met in Thrissur, to wait till the Thalassery principal sessions court pronounces its verdict on the 29th on the anticipatory bail plea, has baffled the cadres also.

State Secretary MV Govindan's announcement that the party's action against Divya will be taken immediately and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's announcement that the police will take strict action have gone in vain.

The fact that the police did not even bother to question Divya has put the party and the Left Front on the defensive in the by-elections.

Meanwhile, former independent MLA from Koduvally, Karat Razak, launched a new bomb against the party. Razak alleged that Minister Mohammed Riyas was sabotaging the development works carried out by him in Koduvally with the connivance of the League. Karat Razak also threatened to know what to do, including joining with Anvar, if the issue was not resolved within a week.

There are also strong allegations that the Rs 100-crore bribery allegation over the NCP ministerial change is a futile attempt with the knowledge of the party to divert public attention from the PP Divya issue.

To avoid remand

1. Since abetment to suicide is a non-bailable offence, Divya can be remanded if produced in court. With that, the pursuit of the anticipatory bail plea will be over. That's why Divya's arrest or surrender has not taken place.
2. Divya will not be able to approach the High Court and extend her arrest under that guise. Even if Divya is arrested, it will not help in the by-election. The impact will only increase when the arrest is weaponised by the opponents.

An abetment to suicide charge should be investigated by an officer of the rank of SP. Kannur police commissioner's team was appointed when criticism mounted that it was confined to Kannur town CI to save the accused.

Only suspension for Prashanth

According to the report of the additional chief secretary of the health department, Prashanth, a contractual employee of Pariyaram Medical College, obtained an NOC for the petrol pump and paid a bribe to ADM Naveen Babu (claimed by Prashanth himself) in violation of service rules. Health Minister Veena George had announced that Prashanth will not be in service but the action was confined to suspension.