Additional District Magistrate found dead at his quarters in Kannur
Kannur (Kerala), Oct 15: A senior district administration official in Kerala was found dead at his official residence here on Tuesday, a day after facing corruption allegations from the District Panchayat president during his farewell ceremony.
Police said Additional District Magistrate (ADM), Kannur, Naveen Babu K, who was supposed to reach his home district of Pathanamthitta on Tuesday morning to take charge as ADM there, was found hanging in his quarters.
At his farewell ceremony organised by his colleagues and attended by district Collector Arun K Vijayan, the ADM faced allegations of corruption from District Panchayat president P P Divya, who allegedly attended the event without an official invitation.
The death of Babu, allegedly by suicide, has sparked a row in the state, with the opposition Congress seeking the resignation of Divya, who is the ruling CPI(M)'s Kannur district panchayat president.
The Congress leaders alleged that the humiliation Babu suffered from Divya during his send-off ceremony was the reason for his extreme step. They demanded that Divya be arrested.
Kerala Revenue Minister K Rajan described the death of the official as a sad incident and stated that a serious investigation would be conducted into it. He said that there were no complaints of corruption against Babu.
In an indirect message to Divya, the minister said that elected representatives, if any, must possess maturity and public awareness when engaging with the broader society.
The police, which conducted the inquest into the body, reported that they did not find a suicide note.
Rejecting the police version, the Youth Congress alleged that the police destroyed evidence to protect the culprits involved in the incident.
The relatives of Babu rejected the narrative from certain quarters attempting to "portray" him as corrupt.
They said Babu's family had been followers of the Left party since his parents' time, and both Babu and his wife were members of Left-backed service organisations.
Attending the send-off ceremony of Babu allegedly without an official invitation on Tuesday, the District Panchayat president had criticised the ADM for delaying the approval of a petrol pump in Chengalai for several months.
Divya accused the ADM of granting approval only two days after being transferred and hinted that she knew the reasons behind this sudden approval.
Speaking in the presence of the District Collector and Babu's other colleagues, she also stated that more information would be revealed within two days.
After concluding her speech, Divya declined to stay for the presentation of a memento, saying she did not wish to stand for it, and left the stage.
The death of the official came to light when his wife, a tehsildar, and their children went to Chengannur railway station on Tuesday morning to receive Babu, who was supposed to take charge as ADM Pathanamthitta, later in the day.
When Babu was not found on the train, the family tried to reach him on his mobile phone, but it went unanswered. They subsequently contacted his colleagues in Kannur, and during their search, they found Babu hanging in his quarters.
Meanwhile, a protest erupted in Kannur by supporters of the Congress, seeking the resignation of Divya.
Talking to reporters in Thiruvananthapuram, Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly, V D Satheesan alleged that the death of the ADM is equivalent to murder.
He said the arrogance and contempt shown by the district panchayat president towards the ADM are unacceptable.
Satheesan said a case should be registered, and an investigation must be conducted to bring the culprit to justice.
Meanwhile, Prasanthan, who was planning to start a petrol pump in Chengalai, alleged that he paid a bribe to Babu, the ADM of Kannur, to obtain a NOC for the petrol pump license.
He claimed that although he had submitted an application for petrol pump approval, Babu delayed the process for six months, stating that the file needed to be reviewed.
Prasanthan further alleged that he was later called to Babu's residence and asked for money. He said that he had also emailed a complaint against Babu to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
The Youth Congress alleged that Prasanthan was a CPI(M) member and a close relative of a party leader. The organisation also claimed there was a conspiracy behind Prasanthan's allegations.
The BJP also held a protest march towards the district panchayat office, seeking the resignation of Divya. The party also called for the registration of a case against Divya.
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Constitution powerful tool to protect poorest section of society: Rahul Gandhi
New Delhi (PTI): The Congress on Tuesday urged citizens to protect the ethos of the Constitution and said the struggle to defend India's inherent philosophy must be reinvigorated and reignited in the 75th year of its adoption.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said the Constitution is a powerful tool to protect the poorest and weakest sections of society, and the stronger it is, the stronger the country will be.
In a swipe at the BJP, the opposition party also asserted that at a time when those out to destroy the Constitution are showing insincere commitment towards it, "our duty to protect it and fight for its true values becomes all the more relevant".
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the people of India should come together to protect each and every thought expressed in the Constitution.
"The 75th year of the adoption of the Constitution has begun today. I extend my warmest wishes to all Indians on this historic occasion," the Congress president said in a post on X.
"The Constitution of India, painstakingly and carefully drafted by our foremothers and forefathers is the lifeblood of our nation. It guarantees us social, economic and political rights. It constitutes India into a sovereign socialist democratic republic," he said.
Justice, liberty, equality and fraternity are not just ideals or ideas, they are the way of life for 140 crore Indians, Kharge asserted.
"Today, we recall the tremendous contribution of the Constituent Assembly and its prolific members. We are forever indebted to their vision and wisdom," he said.
Kharge said Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Babasaheb Dr BR Ambedkar, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Dr Rajendra Prasad, KM Munshi, Sarojini Naidu, Alladi Krishnaswamy Ayyar, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur and several eminent personalities were not just revered national icons but inspiring personalities who became the torchbearers of hope for generations together.
No mention of the Constituent Assembly should be complete without recalling the contribution of the 15 women members who provided equally important inputs for an inclusive India, the Congress president said.
"We must also not forget that the Constituent Assembly received uncountable suggestions from ordinary citizens which are a matter of record," he said.
The Objectives Resolution moved by Nehru and Ambedkar's momentous last speech to the Constituent Assembly form the Magna Carta in protecting the tenets of the Constitution, he said.
"We, the patriotic citizens of India, now have the onerous task of protecting the ethos of the Constitution," Kharge said.
"We, the people of India, should, therefore, come together to protect each and every thought expressed in the Constitution," he said.
In the 75th year of the Constitution's adoption, the struggle to defend India's inherent philosophy must be reinvigorated and reignited, just like the era of the national movement, the Congress president said.
Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi said, "Heartiest greetings to all of you on Constitution Day. The basic spirit of our Constitution is that justice and rights should be equal for all. Everyone should get an opportunity to live with self-respect."
"The Constitution is a powerful tool to protect the poorest and weakest sections of society. The stronger it is, the stronger our country will be," he said.
"On this day, I salute the fighters, martyrs and every member of the Constituent Assembly who protected the idea of the Constitution and reiterate my resolve to protect it," Gandhi said.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said that freedom fighters and great people together created a Constitution that ensured freedom, equality, fraternity and justice for crores of Indians.
"Our Constitution is the protective shield of crores of Indians which gives them every kind of rights. Happy Constitution Day to all the people of the country," she said.
"Salute to the great ancestors, martyrs, revolutionaries and every member of the Constituent Assembly. This democracy and Constitution, obtained from their tireless hard work and sacrifices, is our pride. Come, let us pledge that we will protect it in every situation," Priyanka Gandhi said in her post in Hindi on X.
Congress general secretary in-charge organisation K C Venugopal said India marks an important landmark as it celebrates the 75th Constitution Day today, a day when Ambedkar's revolutionary text was adopted by the Constituent Assembly.
The Constitution of India is not merely a document, it is India's soul and history of millennia in motion, he said in a post on X.
"A living document that gives hope to 140 crore Indians, the Constitution is what keeps the ideals of justice, equality, inclusivity and democracy alive in India," Venugopal said.
"At a time when those out to destroy the Constitution are showing insincere commitment towards it, our duty to protect it and fight for its true values becomes all the more relevant," Venugopal said.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh recalled two books on the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution of India by the Constituent Assembly.
Many books have been, and continue to be written on the making of the Constitution. But two have become evergreen classics, he said.
"Granville Austin's scholarly 'The Indian Constitution: Cornerstone of a Nation' first appeared in 1966. He had got unprecedented access to the private collections of a number of key personalities, especially Dr. Rajendra Prasad and K.M. Munshi. He had also interviewed many members of the Constituent Assembly," Ramesh said.
B Shiva Rao's magisterial four-volume "The Framing of the Indian Constitution" was published in 1968, he noted. It has a very poignant letter from Nehru to Shiva Rao on writing a foreword sent just three days before the then prime minister passed away, Ramesh recalled.
Incidentally, Shiva Rao's almost now-forgotten brother Benegal Narsing Rau was a pivotal player in the making of the Constitution, he said.
