P P Divya party cadre, not enemy: CPI(M)

Thrissur (Kerala) | The ruling CPI(M) in Kerala on Friday indicated its support for party leader P P Divya, accused of abetting the suicide of former Additional District Magistrate Naveen Babu, by saying that she was a party cadre and not an enemy.

Amidst reports that the CPI(M) decided to remove Divya from its Kannur district committee, party state secretary M V Govindan said that the "party's intention is to correct the cadres and not kill them." He also said that there was nothing wrong with party leaders meeting Divya and that they will meet her when she comes out of prison.

"She is not an enemy of the party. She is a party cadre. When a cadre makes a mistake, the party will correct it and will move forward," he said.

The CPI(M) state secretary also said that the party had already indicated that it was with Babu's family.

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.

Subsequently, police registered a case against Divya for abetting the suicide of the ADM under section 108 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS)