Sriram gets bail as drunken driving charge lacks proof

Thiruvananthapuram: The judicial first class magistrate - III here has granted bail to IAS officer Sriram Venkitaraman in the culpable homicide case related to the road accident he allegedly caused, in which journalist K M Basheer was killed. The prosecution is likely to challenge the bail in the higher court.
During the hearing in the morning session, the additional public prosecutor opposed granting bail to Sriram stating that he had committed a serious offence by driving the vehicle under the influence of alcohol and causing accident. The defence counsel countered this argument citing that the result of the blood test done to find whether the accused was drunk had returned negative.
The court asked the prosecution whether there was any evidence to substantiate their claim. The court also called for the case diary and the blood test results of the accused. Both were produced before the court and the magistrate went through the documents and granted bail to the accused after it became clear that there was no scientific evidence to substantiate the allegation of drunken driving. The magistrate also rejected the application seeking police custody of Sriram.
Basheer, the bureau chief of Siraj daily, was killed after the car allegedly driven by Sriram rammed him around 1am on Saturday. Though witnesses claimed that Sriram was in an inebriated condition, police caused a delay of over nine hours in collecting his blood sample for alcohol test and the result turned out negative.
Sriram, who also allegedly suffered injuries in the accident, is currently undergoing treatment in Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital. Following his involvement in the fatal accident, the government has placed him under suspension from the post of the director of survey and land records department.
Also on Tuesday, the court admitted in file a petition from Siraj chairman Saifudeen Haji, who is the defacto complainant in the case, seeking the court to monitor the probe to ensure a proper investigation.
On Tuesday evening, over 200 journalists in Thiruvananthapuram took out a march to police headquarters to protest the laxity of police in handling the case. They alleged that lapses in the probe helped the accused obtaining bail and demanded the prosecution to challenge the bail in the upper court.