New Delhi, Oct 15 (IANS): BJP's prominent Christian leader in Kerala, Anoop Antony Joseph, while commenting on the death of Kannur Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Naveen Babu, alleged that the officer was continuously being harassed by CPIM leader P.P. Divya.

Naveen Babu was found dead at his home on Tuesday, a day after CPIM leader P.P. Divya reportedly made serious corruption charges against him.

Speaking to IANS, BJP leader Joseph said, “The suicide of an ADM in Kannur, Kerala is a tragic incident, which happened during his transfer and farewell ceremony. CPM leader PP Divya publicly humiliated him and made false allegations. This incident shows the extreme arrogance of CPM leaders, which is visible in public. The ADM was allegedly being constantly harassed by PP Divya, as he was an honest and strong officer. He was being pressurised illegally to give NOC, which he refused.”

He added, “The Kannur Additional District Magistrate was an honest and dutiful person and Divya was pressurising him to issue an illegal NOC. When he refused to do so, he was publicly humiliated, which led him to commit suicide.”

“This incident not only exposes the behaviour of CPM leaders but also shows the seriousness of the law and order situation in Kerala. While on one hand, the government is busy passing a resolution in the Parliament against the proposed Waqf Amendment Bill, on the other hand, efforts are going on to grab the land of about 400 Christian families in Kochi,” the BJP leader claimed.

“This situation becomes even more worrying when we see that the Chief Minister himself is an MLA from Kannur and an important leader of his party in his district humiliated a government official and forced him to commit suicide. All this reflects the seriousness of the law and order situation in Kerala, creating an atmosphere of insecurity and instability in the society,” he told IANS