Overview
- The UDF state government is set to move the investigation of ADM Naveen Babu’s October 2024 death to the Central Bureau of Investigation after Chief Minister V. D. Satheesan assured the widow of a CBI probe when she met him on May 29, and a Cabinet decision is expected soon.
- Babu’s family pushed for the transfer because they said they lost faith in the Kerala Police inquiry and they welcomed the government’s announcement as a source of relief and hope for a fuller examination.
- In March the Thalassery Additional Sessions Court ordered a fresh investigation and permitted the production of call data records from P. P. Divya’s official phone, a step that restarted judicial scrutiny of the case.
- Former Kannur district panchayat president P. P. Divya remains the sole accused after police filed a charge sheet accusing her of abetment of suicide following her public corruption allegations against Babu.
- The move has become politicised with CPI(M) leaders calling the referral politically motivated while the UDF says it seeks impartiality; if the CBI takes over, jurisdiction, evidence access and the pace of inquiries would shift and observers will watch for the formal Cabinet notification and any legal challenges.