THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: IAS officer Sriram Venkataraman, who is accused of drunken driving that led to the death of a scribe, on Friday told the Special Investigation Team (SIT) that he was behind the wheels when the accident occurred. However, he denied being under the influence of alcohol while driving.
Wafa Firoze, who was accompanying Sriram in the car during the accident, had earlier given her statement that Sriram had driven the car under the influence of alcohol. Though he admitted to being in the driving seat, Sriram did not narrate what led to the accident.The police sources said Sriram said he could not recollect how the accident occurred.
Police sources said they had taken his fingerprints in a bid to collect technical evidence. “We have his statement and fingerprints. We want to build a watertight case,” said a police officer. Sriram, is convalescing at the Medical College Hospital. The probe team also recorded Wafa’s statement on Friday. She stuck to the secret statement that she had given to the magistrate.
According to the secret statement, Sriram was ‘slightly drunk’ and was in the driving seat when the car hit Siraj daily’s reporter KM Basheer near Museum Junction. Wafa said she was driving the car in the beginning. Later, Sriram told her to switch seats and he took the wheel.