Land Revenue Joint Commissioner A Geetha, who investigated the events leading to the death of former Kannur Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Naveen Babu, has found no evidence supporting allegations that he accepted a bribe for issuing a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for a petrol pump at Chenglai in Kannur.

The investigation concluded that ADM Naveen Babu’s issuance of the NOC for the petrol pump at Chengalai in Kannur was legally sound. According to official sources, there were no statements or evidence suggesting that the former ADM intentionally delayed processing the file related to the NOC.

In this connection, TV Prasanthan, an electrician at Pariyaram Government Medical College, reportedly informed the police that he paid a bribe to former ADM Naveen Babu at his official quarters on October 6.

Meanwhile, the post-mortem report of former ADM Naveen Babu, released on Tuesday, confirmed that his death was indeed a suicide, occurring between 4:00 and 5:30 am. It has been revealed that the last message from Naveen Babu, sent hours after facing public rebuke, was directed to Premraj, a Junior Superintendent in the collectorate, Kannur. Sent from his mobile phone at 4:58 am on the day of his death, the message included the phone numbers of his wife and brother.

Naveen Babu’s tragic death is believed to have occurred shortly after he sent his wife’s and brother’s mobile numbers to Premraj. However, Premraj did not notice the message then; he only became aware of it much later, when news of Naveen Babu’s death had already surfaced.

Despite being named as a suspect for allegedly abetting his suicide, former district panchayat president PP Divya has not yet been questioned by the police. With the hearing on her anticipatory bail postponed to Thursday, no action is expected until then.

Meanwhile, a team led by the Kannur Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) recorded the statement of District Collector Arun K Vijayan as part of the ongoing investigation into the death of Naveen Babu. The Kannur Collector reportedly stated before the police that former panchayat president PP Divya was not invited to ADM’s farewell function.

Attending his send-off function uninvited on 14 October, then Kannur District Panchayat president PP Divya criticised Naveen Babu for delaying the approval of a petrol pump in Chengalai for several months. She remarked that he granted approval only two days after being transferred, suggesting that she was aware of the reasons behind the delay.

Naveen Babu was found dead at his official residence in Kannur on the morning of 15 October. Reports suggest that he may have died by suicide following public humiliation and corruption allegations made by then Kannur District Panchayat president PP Divya during his farewell event on 14 October. Divya had accused him of intentionally delaying the issuance of a No Objection Certificate for Prashanthan, an entrepreneur in Chengalai, Kannur.