Car crash-officer takes charge as district collector

TRIVANDRUM: Sreeram Venkitaraman, a defendant in the 2019 Kerala car crash leading to the death of a young journalist, took charge as the district collector of Alappuzha amid outrage.

Journalists and the principal opposition Congress party had protested the appointment of the officer in a key post with magisterial powers.

Two years back, ater a brief suspension, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had placed him as a joint secretary at the department of health in charge of COVID-19 containment.

Kerala Muslim Jamaat, the group that runs Siraj, the newspaper where the victim was working, also protested the officer being appointed as the chief district administrator.

The police chased away Youth Congress workers who waved black flags and protested along the way as Venkitaraman drove to his new office.

However, they regrouped and continued their protests outside.

Ater taking over from his wife Renu Raj, who had been shited to the neighbouring Ernakulam district, he refused to react to the protests being staged outside.

The Congress leaders said they would continue their protests until the chief minister recalled him and refused to cooperate with the district administration.

“He’s facing charges of murder and destroying evidence. This is not right,” Congress party’s vice-president AA Shukkoor said, vowing to step up their agitation.

“You cannot accept a man who is a defendant in a murder case as an administrator with magisterial powers.”

The Muslim Jammat said it would organise a statewide protest on Saturday, including a sit-in before the State Secretariat housing the chief minister’s office.

The group, known for its proximity to the ruling coalition led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist), is also planning to challenge his appointment in the court.

“His appointment is not only incorrect morally but is also against the law,” the group’s general secretary Saifudheen Haji said.

“You have entrusted the key of the district administration to a killer and thief. He has also got two promotions since the crime.”

A member of the elite Indian Administrative Service (IAS), he allegedly hit journalist KM Basheer, 35, with his speeding car causing his sudden death past midnight.

The police booked him on charges of manslaughter and rash and negligent driving and a deliberate atempt to destroy evidence but delayed his blood test for nine hours.

As per the counts he was charged with, he could end up in ten years in jail.