Thiruvananthapuram: In his first public response to the death of Kannur Additional District Magistrate Naveen Babu, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday described the incident as "painful."
The Chief Minister's reaction came nine days after the incident, which sparked widespread outrage in the state. The Chief Minister stated that nobody will be allowed to question the self-esteem of such officials.
He said measures will be taken to prevent the recurrence of such incidents, he assured at the 51st annual conference of the Kerala Secretariat Employees Association.
The Chief Minister announced that the transfer process for government officials would be made online, and transfers would be conducted based on eligibility. It is worth noting that after the tragic death of Naveen Babu, his family accused the authorities of delaying his transfer for several months.
Naveen Babu was found dead at his official residence in Kannur on October 15. He took drastic action after facing public humiliation and corruption allegations by former Kannur district panchayat president P P Divya at his farewell event.
Divya, who was not a guest at the event, made allegations of bribery against him concerning the NOC for a petrol pump, in front of the ADM, Collector, and other staff.
She was alluding to the accusation made by Prashant, a CPM supporter who had sought an NOC for a petrol pump.
He alleged that he received the NOC on October 9 only after paying a bribe of Rs 98,500 to the ADM. Subsequently, he lodged a complaint with the Chief Minister's office following Divya's advice.
The ADM's suicide led to widespread protests by opposition and employees' associations forcing the CPM to remove Divya from the post of district panchayat president. A case of abetment to suicide was registered against her following which she applied for anticipatory bail in Thalassery Court.
