Sriram Venkitaraman got exemptions that even P.T. Chacko did not get: Muraleedharan
Minister K. Muraleedharan criticized the handling of a 2019 drunk-driving case involving IAS officer Sriram Venkitaraman, which resulted in the death of journalist K.M. Basheer. The Minister argued that the officer received undue exemptions compared to historical political precedents.
Why it matters
The case highlights ongoing concerns regarding accountability for public officials and the influence of political connections in the Indian legal system.
Sriram Venkitaraman, the IAS officer who is an accused in the death of journalist K.M. Basheer in a drunk-driving-related road accident in 2019, got exemptions that even P.T. Chacko, a Kerala Minister over six decades ago, did not get, Minister for Health K. Muraleedharan has said.
He was delivering the keynote address at an event organised by the Thiruvananthapuram unit of the Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) to remember Basheer on Monday.
Basheer, the Thiruvananthapuram bureau chief of Malayalam daily Siraj , was killed on August 3, 2019, after his motorcycle was knocked down by a car allegedly driven by Mr. Venkitaraman, who is currently serving as the Director of the Agriculture Development and Farmers’ Welfare department.
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