Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala IAS officer Sriram Venkitaraman, who is an accused in the accident case that claimed the life of journalist KM Basheer, has not been sent to the Poojappura jail despite an order from the court.
Sriram has been shifted to the prisoners' cell in the Medical College after the doctors at the jail found that he has injuries on his back bone.
Meanwhile, Sriram also filed a bail plea at the Thiruvananthapuram DGM court, which will take up the matter for hearing on Monday.
Sriram drove a car under the influence of alcohol in the early hours of Saturday. The overspeeding car – it clocked 100 km per hour, according to eyewitnesses - rammed Basheer's bike killing him on the spot. Sriram too was injured in the accident and was under treatment at a private hospital since then.
The police arrested him on Saturday. A few hours later, he was remanded in judicial custody.
On Sunday, the Magistrate examined Sriram before issuing the order to shift him to jail. Magistrate said that Sriram's health condition does not warrant a stay in the private hospital.
Sriram was taken to the Magistrate's house on stretcher. He wore a mask and looked like a seriously ill patient.
Earlier reports suggested Sriram was provided a comfortable stay at the hospital despite being on remand. He was staying in an air-conditioned room that had a television, phone and internet facilities. Manorama News obtained evidence that Sriram was online and active on the WhatsApp most of the time during his remand in the private hospital.
Case being sabotaged?
Young doctors frequently entered Sriram's room even though the police stood on guard. Sources in the hospital said Venkitaraman was constantly on the phone. Neither the police nor the private hospital were prepared to give details of his injury. The chemical examiner informed the police that the delay in conducting the blood test would sabotage the inquiry and would favour the accused during the trial.
The government has not initiated disciplinary action against Sriram so far.
Basheer’s family has expressed apprehensions about the fate of the case. “As the accused belongs to the top echelons of society, there could be a move to influence the witnesses,” said Basheer’s brother Abdurahman. “The family would meet the chief minister to seek an impartial probe.”
'Many Srirams in Kerala'
Kerala PWD Minister G Sudhakaran on Sunday took a swipe at the IAS and IPS officials. “There are many Srirams in the civil service,” he told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram. “They think they are Gods. They are human beings," Sudhakaran said.
Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Kodiyeri Balakrishnan assured that the government will not protect the criminals, no matter who they are. “If lapses are found on the part of police, they will also be punished,” he said.