Days after doctors examining suspended IAS officer Sriram Venkitaraman stated that he was showing signs of a concussion, they have now stated that he is stable and can be discharged. Sriram, who was driving the car that was involved in an accident which killed a senior Kerala journalist, KM Basheer, is now stable, according to the doctors at the Government Medical College in Thiruvananthapuram.
“He has some spinal injuries which he will have to follow-up with the neurosurgery doctors but for the most part, he is stable and can be discharged,” stated Dr Sharmad, Medical Superintendent at the college and hospital. He further added that a team of doctors who had been tending to Sriram had taken this decision after extensive examination.
The doctor further noted that Sriram had sustained a spinal compression and that he would require regular follow-ups with the neurosurgery department.
He was, however, unable to comment on the status of Sriram’s memory. Last week, doctors stated that following the accident, the IAS officer had developed retrograde amnesia. Retrograde amnesia is a term used to refer to a form of temporary memory loss, usually due to a recent trauma or injury. Doctors attributed his memory loss to a concussion. In retrograde amnesia, a person’s long term memory is not usually affected, however they will have difficulty recollecting recent incidents.
Senior journalist KM Basheer died on Saturday, August 3, after being hit by a speeding car which was driven by Sriram, who witnesses say was drunk. Basheer was taken to Thiruvananthapuram Medical College, where he succumbed to his injuries, while Sriram was taken to KIMS hospital.
There has been a lot of controversy surrounding the case, with police officials having waited almost nine hours before Sriram’s blood samples were taken to determine his blood alcohol level.