The Principal Sessions Court in Thalassery on Tuesday rejected the anticipatory bail plea of CPI-M leader and former Kannur District Panchayat President PP Divya, who has been charged with abetment to the suicide of Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Naveen Babu.

Divya filed the anticipatory bail plea after police registered a case alleging that her remarks at a farewell function contributed to Naveen’s suicide.

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Following the court’s rejection, Naveen’s wife, Manjusha, who works as the Konni Tahsildar, called for Divya’s arrest. “The person who destroyed our lives must be arrested,” she told the media, marking her first statement since Naveen’s death.

Manjusha also criticized the district collector for not intervening when Divya spoke at the farewell function organized by revenue department staff. She added that the video recording should have been prevented.

Kannur ADM Naveen Babu was found dead at his official residence in Pallikkunnu, Kannur, on the morning of October 15.

He allegedly took his life after facing public humiliation and corruption accusations made by PP Divya, then the Kannur District Panchayat President, at the farewell meeting on October 14.

Divya had accused him of intentionally delaying the issuance of an NOC to Prasanthan to start a petrol pump in Chengalai, Kannur.