IAS officer shifted to prisoners’ cell in MCH

Thiruvananthapuram:05.08.2019

More than 24 hours after a magistrate remanded him in judicial custody, survey and land records director Sriram Venkitaraman, who is the accused in the drunken driving accident that led to the death of journalist K M Basheer, was shifted to the prisoners’ cell of the medical college hospital from a private hospital, where he had been undergoing treatment since the early hours of Saturday. It is learned that Sriram will move a bail application on Monday.

The move of police to discharge Sriram from the super deluxe pay ward of KIMS Hospital, Anayara, and present him before judicial first-class magistrate again on Sunday evening was following the strong protest by journalist fraternity, family of Basheer and opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala over the undue privileges granted to a remand prisoner by the state police. On Sunday morning, Kerala Union of Working Journalists warned off a protest march to the hospital if Sriram was not discharged by evening.

Earlier, Kerala Union of Working Journalists had protested against the “comfy stay” of the officer in the private hospital. The KUWJ officer bearers had threatened to stage a protest in front of the private hospital. The family of Basheer also demanded an impartial probe and expressed anguish over the special treatment meted out to Sriram. TNN

‘Many in civil service are like arrested bureaucrat’

Alappuzha:Kerala PWD minister G Sudhakaran, known for making controversial statements, on Sunday criticised IAS and IPS officials, saying there were many people like arrested IAS officer Sriram Venkitaraman in the civil service. “I had said earlier also that there are similar type of people (who drink and drive in IAS and IPS). They consider themselves as God. They are human beings,” Sudhakaran said. Observing that one should not have a notion that the character of a person would improve if he cleared IAS examination, he said, “It is only an exam.” PTI