Cong claims Kannur Collector was pressured to testify against ADM Naveen Babu

Palakkad/Kannur (Kerala), Oct 30 (PTI) The opposition Congress in Kerala on Wednesday alleged that Kannur District Collector Arun K Vijayan was forced to say that his former colleague -- the late ADM Naveen Babu -- had admitted to committing a mistake following the graft allegations against him.

AICC general secretary K C Venugopal, at a press conference in Palakkad, questioned how the Collector could "flip" against his colleague and claimed that he "must have been forced to do so".

Venugopal said that if the Collector was someone who would so easily succumb to pressure, then he was not eligible to continue in that position.

According to the Collector's statement to the police, after the farewell function, in which CPI(M) leader P P Divya had levelled corruption allegations against the ADM, Babu met Vijayan in his chamber and said that he had committed a mistake.

The statement is mentioned in the order of the sessions court that had denied anticipatory bail to Divya in Babu's suicide case.

Divya's lawyer, referring to the statement, claimed that the investigating agency did not properly inquire into the late ADM's remark to find out what "mistake" he was referring to.

She moved a bail plea before the sessions court on Wednesday after her anticipatory bail plea was dismissed.

Her lawyer also claimed that the prosecution has concealed a lot of evidence and material, including the graft complaint against Babu by one Prashant, and said that a plea has been moved before the court seeking preservation of all this evidence.

State Revenue Minister K Rajan, on the other hand, refused to comment on the statement given by the Collector.

He said that the Collector gave separate statements to the police and the Land Revenue Jt. Commissioner who had questioned officials of the collectorate.

The minister also said that the two investigations were separate from each other.

He also said that if there was any discrepancy in the Collector's statement given to the police, the court will deal with it.

The Collector, earlier in the day, told reporters that the court order rejecting Divya's anticipatory bail does not contain his entire statement given to the police.

He also said that the portion of his statement mentioned in the order was correct.

A Kerala court on Tuesday had rejected Divya's anticipatory bail plea, observing that "the circumstances itself disentitle her the relief of pre-arrest bail." It had also observed that the act of the petitioner (Divya) was pre-planned and premeditated with the sole intention of insulting and humiliating a highly reputed high ranking government official.

Attending Babu's send-off function allegedly uninvited on October 14, Divya had criticised him for delaying approval for a petrol pump in Chengalai for several months and remarked he had okayed it only two days after being transferred, hinting she knew the reasons behind the sudden approval.

The following day, Babu was found dead at his quarters in Kannur.

Divya had moved the Thalassery Sessions Court on October 19, seeking anticipatory bail after the police registered a case against her for abetting the suicide of the ADM under Section 108 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). PTI