Kerala journalist death: Accused IAS officer granted bail

Two days after he was sent to 14-day judicial custody, IAS officer Sriram Venkitaraman was on Tuesday granted bail in connection with a road accident which led to the death of a journalist here.

On Monday, Venkitaraman was suspended for allegedly mowing down journalist KM Basheer here last week. He was returning from a party and was reportedly in an inebriated state when the accident took place.

Basheer, the Chief of Trivandrum Bureau of Malayalam daily Siraj, was rushed to a government hospital but could not be saved. The officer had also sustained injuries and was admitted to a nearby hospital.

However, Venkitaraman, in a statement to the police, claimed that the car was being driven by his friend when the accident took place.

The police have registered a case under Section 279 (for reckless driving) and 304 (for culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code.Basheer (35) was killed after a speeding car driven by Venkitaraman rammed into his bike in Thiruvananthapuram in the wee hours of Saturday, police had said.

The officer was arrested on Saturday while undergoing treatment at a hospital.

The journalist fraternity had alleged that there were lapses in the police probe. They also claimed that the police did not conduct the officer's blood test.

( With inputs from ANI )