Kerala IAS officer Sriram Venkitaraman, who allegedly drove a car in an intoxicated state and fatally knocked down journalist K M Basheer, has been suspended.
Sriram, who was arrested for manslaughter as per the IPC section 304, has been in custody for more than 24 hours. The action was undertaken after the additional chief secretary of the Home Department filed a report on this to the chief secretary, who in turn handed over the file to the Chief Minister, recommending action as per the norms.
Though there have been earlier instances of IAS officers being suspended for violating norms, an officer facing action over manslaughter is a rare incident. Sriram had entered the civil service by securing the second rank in 2013.
Blood result comes in negative
A lab report which came out earlier had stated that there was no alcoholic content in his blood. The blood sample was tested by the police analytical laboratory. The report has been handed over to the police.
Venkitaraman's blood sample was collected 10 hours after the fatal accident. It is alleged that the delay in collecting the blood sampe led to the negative report. In the event of the new report, it is doubtful whether the murder charges slapped on the IAS officer will stand.
The police remand report had not verified the allegation that he was inebriated. The testimonies of eye-witnesses which vouch for his drunken stupor at the time of accident has not been mentioned in the remand report either. It merely points out that the accused is well aware of the consequences of drunken-driving.
However, the charge of drunk driving has been slapped on Venkitaraman. The report says that he forcefully took the vehicle from Wafa Firoz and over-speeded.
Moved to multispecialty ICU
He has been moved to a multispecialty ICU from the surgical ICU in Medical College. The Medical College authorities did not clarify the reason for the same.
It is alleged that Sriram tried to get around the legal procedures and delayed his admission to the Medical College Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram by several hours.
Soon after the accident around 12:55am on Saturday, the police took Sriram to the general hospital.
Though the doctors recommended blood test to ascertain if he was under the influence of alcohol, the IAS officer reportedly refused. Though the law authorises the policemen to take the blood samples forcefully in such a scenario, the cops were hesitant.
Sriram, who complained of uneasiness, was referred to the Medical College Hospital. However, he got admitted to the private hospital with the police nod by 4:30am on Saturday. Sriram was admitted to the air-conditioned super deluxe room of the hospital that had a slew of facilities, including a television. The room could also seat around 10 visitors at a time.
Though the hospital staff turned up to take his blood samples as per the routine medical practice, Sriram still refused to comply.
Sriram said that he was exhausted and that the blood samples need be taken only after the breakfast. He informed the doctors that he had chest pain, back pain and vomiting. However, even after the breakfast, Sriram did not agree for the blood test.
Meanwhile, the police fallout in the accident created a huge uproar and the cops reached the private hospital along with the staff of the general hospital by 10am.
Finally, the blood samples were taken by the general hospital staff. Allegations have risen that the blood test was delayed to ensure that there was no alcohol content in blood.
Sriram was not immediately admitted to the Medical College Hospital either. That happened only four hours later.
Sriram, who was discharged from the private hospital, was taken straight to the magistrate's house. The magistrate ordered for Sriram to be presented before the jail superintendent. He was taken to the Poojapura district jail in an ambulance. The ambulance carrying Sriram was stationed outside the jail for nearly 2 hours.
Complaining that his arm was grievously injured, Sriram sought for immediate medical attention. Then the jail superintendent recommended that he be taken to the Medical College Hospital. After he was examined at the casualty, he was moved to the prisoners' cell.
Patient Sriram was online
Civil Service officers reportedly visited Sriram at the private hospital. However, the law stipulates that prior permission has to be taken to visit an accused, who is in remand. This too was violated as cops on duty gave a silent nod to the visitors.
Sriram was also reportedly using his mobile phone and was active on WhatsApp during this time. However, after this information were revealed, authorities found themselves in a spot. Journalists too said that they would protest and Sriram was discharged by 5pm.