THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala Government Medical Officers' Association (KGMOA) on Monday lashed out at the state police for shifting the blame on doctors in a report related to the accident involving Sriram Venkataraman which stated that the blood test on the IAS officer was delayed.
The bureaucrat was accused of drunken driving and overspeeding which led to the car accident killing a journalist K M Basheer.
A KGMOA representative said a medical officer at General Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram had tried everything possible as per the law when the officer was brought to the hospital after the accident.
"The blood sample can be taken only after the police make a formal request. They did not even make an oral request," said Dr Vijayakrishnan of KGMOA. He said the doctor had mentioned that Sriram's breath smelled of alcohol in the outpatient ticket. KGMOA plans to file a complaint with the state police chief and Chief Minister on Monday, besides exploring other legal options.
The report filed by DySP Sheen Tharayil said that the doctor present at General Hospital refused to take blood samples immediately after the accident. The blood test taken after a delay of almost 10 hours did not find any alcohol content and enabled the IAS officer to get bail.
Delay in suspending licence
The Motor Vehicle Department is yet to cancel the licence of Sriram Venkataraman who is still driving his car 16 days after the fatal accident. A show-cause notice was served to him under Section 19 of the Motor Vehicle Act. But no action was taken even though the officer failed to respond to the notice. Transport Minister A K Saseendran said the licence would be cancelled on Monday and a probe would be conducted if the delay was deliberate.
A similar notice was sent to Wafa Firoze, the owner of the car and co-passenger, for not paying the fines for overspeeding in the past. She later paid the fine. MVD officers said her licence would not be cancelled for now.
Joint Transport Commissioner Rajeev Puthalath had visited the accident spot in front of the Public Office and said the accident prima facie was due to overspeeding.
A team of motor vehicle inspectors filed a report recommending action. The report said it was an avoidable accident.