THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The appointment of IAS officer Sriram Venkitaraman, who is the first accused in the accident death of senior journalist of ‘Siraj’ daily K M Basheer, as election observer for poll-bound Tamil Nadu has stoked controversy.
The 34-year-old officer was appointed as observer in Thiru.vi.ka Nagar and Egmore Assembly constituencies by the Central Election Commission overriding its own statute that the government officers against whom criminal cases are pending should not be appointed election observers.
Sriram, a 2013 batch officer, has been charged under IPC sections pertaining to murder, destruction of evidence, destruction of public property etc. As the appointment ignited controversy, the management of vernacular daily Siraj approached the Election Commission (EC) and urged it to roll back the decision.
As per the EC’s rule, the observers should give an affidavit saying that they do not have any criminal cases pending against them nor their relatives are contesting elections. “The Chief Secretaries of the states recommend officers of spotless character for poll duties. But in Sriram’s case that procedure has been flouted,” said the Siraj management.
Apart from the ECI Secretary General Umesh Sinha, the management also lodged complaints with CEO Teeka Ram Meena and Chief Secretary V P Joy.