Kerala court discharges IAS officer Sriram Venkitaraman of culpable homicide in road rage case

A Kerala Court on Wednesday discharged Sriram Venkitaraman of a culpable homicide charge in a 2019 road rage case which resulted in the death of journalist, KM Basheer..Additional District and Sessions Judge -I, Thiruvananthapuram discharged Venkitaraman for the offences under 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 201(causing disappearance of evidence of commission of offence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Section 185 of the Motor Vehicles Act (MV Act), and Section 3(1)(2) of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act.However, the Court framed charges against Venkitaraman under Sections 279 (rash driving) and 304(A) (causing death by negligence) of the IPC and Section 184 Of MV Act .Since it is a matter trial by a Magistrate Court, the Sessions Judge transferred the case to the Judicial First Class Magistrate-II Thiruvananthapuram..KM Basheer was killed in an alleged road rage incident involving the IAS Officer who was driving a car that rammed into him.The police allegedly found Venkitaraman an inebriated state after the accident. However, there was significant delay in collecting his blood sample for testing the alcohol level as Venkitaraman had managed to check himself out of the government hospital where the police had taken him.Subsequently a case was registered against Venkitaraman and the passenger in the car at the time, one Wafa Firoz, by the Museum Police, Thiruvananthapuram.Venkitaraman was accused of having committed the offences punishable under Sections 279, 304, 304(A), and 201 of the IPC as well as Sections 185 and 188 of the Motor Vehicles Act and Section 3(1)(2) of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act..Two months ago, the brother of the deceased journalist had approached the Kerala High Court seeking a CBI probe into the case, alleging that Venkitaraman is an influential man who has been working hand in glove with the prosecution to deflect the case. The matter remains pending. At around the same time the appointment of Venkitaraman as the Alappuzha District Collector elicited protests from many groups across the State, including the Kerala Union of Working Journalists.