Before being a rising star in politics, P.P. Divya was a football star. The CPI(M) leader, who became the Kannur District Panchayat President at 36, was once part of the Kerala football team. However, after a verbal “tackle” allegedly leading to the death of Additional District Magistrate Naveen Babu, the party has removed her from the position.
The CPI(M) removed Divya from her post after Kerala police charged her with abetment to suicide, a non-bailable offence. Naveen Babu was found dead in his quarters a day after being given a send-off by his colleagues. Babu was set to return to his home district, Pathanamthitta, to take charge as the ADM there. His farewell ceremony, presided over by the district collector, was disrupted by corruption allegations related to an NOC for a petrol pump at Chengalayi, Kannur, which was raised by Divya, who had arrived at the meeting uninvited.
A native of Irinavu, Divya represented the Kalliasseri division in the district panchayat, winning by a margin of 22,578 votes. When the young and fiery leader was selected to head the panchayat, she was already a DYFI central committee member and a CPI(M) district committee member. Divya has also served as vice president of the Kannur district panchayat and as vice chairman of Kannur University.
Now, the police have taken a case against Divya under Section 108 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), charging her with an offence that carries a sentence of up to 10 years in jail. Earlier, Babu’s brother had filed a complaint claiming that Babu’s death was the result of threats from Divya and a conspiracy she allegedly orchestrated with T.V. Prashanthan, the applicant for the petrol pump. Prashanthan had earlier claimed that he submitted a complaint about Babu to the CMO, but the CMO denied receiving any such complaint making Divya’s position weaker. Notably, Babu also comes from a left-leaning family and has been part of a leftist service organisation.
Divya was widely regarded as a promising leader with the potential to become a future MLA or even a minister. However, her political career now faces a setback, receiving a “yellow card” for the actions that allegedly contributed to the death of a fellow comrade.
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