The Kerala government on Wednesday moved the high court against a lower court order dropping culpable homicide charge against IAS officer Sriram Venkitaraman and his friend Wafa Firoze in connection with the alleged drunk driving case related to the death of journalist K M Basheer in 2019.
In October this year, the sessions court in Thiruvananthapuram had dropped culpable homicide charges against both but maintained that other charges under Sections 304 A (causing death by negligence) and 279 (rash driving ) of the Indian Penal Code and 184 of the Motor Vehicles Act (reckless driving) will stay.
The sessions court had agreed to his contention that “there was no evidence to prove that he was drunk at the time of the accident on August 3, 2019, that claimed the life a young journalist”. He is the first accused in the case and his woman fellow traveller is the second accused.
In the plea before HC, the government claimed that Venkitaraman delayed his treatment and blood check when he was rushed to the general hospital in the state capital soon after the accident. The doctors later referred him to the medical college hospital but declined the advice of doctors and police and got himself admitted to a private hospital. It also said “many witnesses to the accident gave statements that he was inebriated at the time of the mishap but deliberately delayed his medical test”. His blood sample was reportedly taken 10 hours after the accident.
“Statements of witnesses in unequivocal terms stated that the first accused was in an inebriated state. He, being a qualified doctor and civil servant, was aware of consequences. Awareness on the part of the person concerned of the consequences of his act delayed further tests. Hence the court ought to have proceeded with the trail of the accused under Section 304 of the IPC,” the government contended in its plea.
{{/usCountry}}“Statements of witnesses in unequivocal terms stated that the first accused was in an inebriated state. He, being a qualified doctor and civil servant, was aware of consequences. Awareness on the part of the person concerned of the consequences of his act delayed further tests. Hence the court ought to have proceeded with the trail of the accused under Section 304 of the IPC,” the government contended in its plea.
{{/usCountry}}In August this year, the deceased’s brother K B Abdurehman had moved the HC alleging a big cover-up and had sought a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation.
Soon after the incident the government had suspended Venkitaraman from service and taken him back to service a year later. He is currently the general manager of the state civil supplies corporation. A couple of months back there was a move to appoint him as the collector of Alapuzha but the government withdrew the order after many Muslim outfits hit the streets.
Venkitaraman, second rank holder in the civil service examination in 2013, was once a hero of the state after he demolished a number of encroachments in hill station Munnar and locked horns with many influential people and politicians, but his image suffered a beating after the accident. Journalists alleged that the powerful bureaucratic lobby played its role well in shielding him and weakening the case.