Kochi: The state government has ruled out a CBI investigation into the death of former ADMK leader Naveen Babu from Kannur. The government will inform the High Court of this decision tomorrow. The government has stated that the police investigation is progressing in the right direction and that all concerns raised by the family will be addressed. The investigation will also look into the allegations of murder. The High Court will consider a petition filed by Naveen Babu’s wife tomorrow.
The government maintains that there have been no lapses in the police investigation and will inform the court that there is no need to transfer the investigation to the CBI. The CPM has also taken the stance that a CBI probe is unnecessary. Earlier, CPM state secretary M.V. Govindan stated that the party had a clear position against a CBI investigation and added that there was no change in this stance. He also referred to the CBI’s involvement as “closed case.”
M.V. Govindan reiterated that the party stands with Naveen’s family and emphasized that it was not a suicide but a murder. Naveen’s family had informed the court that the police were overly eager to protect the accused, P.P. Divya, a member of the CPM Kannur district committee. Naveen Babu’s wife, Manjusha, began her argument by stating that she had no faith in the state police investigation.
The accused, P.P. Divya, is a district committee member of the CPM and a leader of affiliated organizations with political influence. This has led to the case being compromised. The petition claims that police have no interest in collecting evidence and are instead fabricating false evidence to protect the accused. Therefore, the petitioner requested the court not to allow the submission of a charge sheet. The single bench of the court inquired about the issue with submitting the charge sheet, asking what the problem would be in doing so.
Even if a final report is submitted, there are legal avenues to order a CBI investigation, the petitioner responded, stating that such a report would likely be fabricated to protect the accused. The court then questioned how the accused could manipulate the case despite political influence. The family’s lawyer also expressed a lack of faith in the current investigation and requested a crime branch inquiry if the CBI probe is not approved. The court has accepted the petition and issued notices to the state government and CBI.
