Dr Sriram Venkitaraman, the IAS officer who is accused of drunk-driving and causing the death of a journalist, has been hired back by the Kerala government after a long suspension. According to reports, he has joined the health department and has taken charge of COVID-19 prevention work.
The government has informed the Kerala Union of Working Journalists about the decision, said KUWJ general secretary ES Subhash. “We were informed by the Chief Minister’s office about four days ago. The CM wanted to meet us too, but we were not in station. They said that the government has done all there was to do in this case – the charge sheet has been submitted, and Sriram has been charged as the first accused, the court has also begun trial on the case. There is nothing more the government can do in the case. They also mentioned that it is likely that Sriram would be hired in the health department in the circumstances of the coronavirus disease spread, since he is also a doctor,” Subhash said.
On August 3 last year, a speeding car allegedly driven by Sriram Venkitaraman, accompanied by the owner of the car Wafa Firoz, rammed into a motorcycle parked by the side of the road, killing journalist KM Basheer. It is said that Basheer was sitting on the parked bike and making a phone call. The accident happened at Vellayambalam, Thiruvananthapuram.
Sriram had allegedly refused to take a breath analyser test, according to eye witnesses and the police failed to take him for an immediate blood test. He got himself admitted to KIMS Hospital and the blood test was done only nine hours later. The IAS officer was then suspended by the government. The charges against him – culpable homicide not amounting to murder – would hold only if it is proved that it was a case of drunken driving.
Sriram and Wafa did not appear before the chief judicial magistrate court in Thiruvananthapuram for the case in February, their lawyer producing a leave request citing personal reasons. The next court hearing is posted for April 16.