THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It has been a year since KM Basheer, senior journalist and Thiruvananthapuram bureau chief of Malayalam daily, ‘Siraj’, was fatally knocked down by a car allegedly driven by IAS officer Sriram Venkitaraman.But even now, justice continues to elude his family. Though the Crime Branch had filed the chargesheet before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court in February this year, the trial is yet to commence.
First accused Sriram and second accused Wafa, who had been present in the vehicle at the time of the accident, were twice asked to appear before the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court. But the two were exempted from personal appearance after they moved a prayer for absence citing medical reasons. Following this, they were asked to appear on September 16.
Sriram, who was the Director of Department of Survey and Land Records when the accident occurred, was charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder and causing disappearance of evidences, among other Sections. The local police who probed the case initially, were soft on the accused and even delayed getting his blood sample tested.
Though Sriram was suspended immediately in the incident’s wake, he was later reinstated in service.
Meanwhile, the journalist fraternity has urged the government to appoint a special prosecutor in the case. The demand was raised by the Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) and the Thiruvananthapuram Press Club during a joint commemorative meeting organised on Basheer’s first death anniversary.
Basheer was mowed down by the car allegedly driven by Sriram under the influence of alcohol near the Museum Junction here in the early hours of August 3.