Thiruvananthapuram: The 1st Additional District Sessions Court in Thiruvananthapuram has charged IAS officer Sriram Venkataraman with murder in the case of media worker K M Basheer being hit by a vehicle. The charge sheet prepared by the court was read out. He denied the crime when asked by the court whether he had committed the crime he had read and heard. The court then ordered the accused to be tried. Thiruvananthapuram First Assistant District Sessions Court Judge KP Anilkumar charged the accused and ordered him to be tried.
The court adjourned the reading of the chargesheet several times due to Sriram’s continuous absence. Last time the accused was verbally reprimanded by the court and directed to appear in person. Based on this, Sriram came to the court yesterday. Under Indian Penal Code sections 279 (negligent driving on public road endangering human life), 304 (culpable homicide), 201 (destruction of evidence and giving false information) and Section 184 (driving in a dangerous manner endangering human life) of the Motor Vehicles Act The charges were brought against the accused before the trial.
In the charge order, the court noted that there was prima facie evidence before the court to infer that the accused had committed the offence. At the same time, the court clarified that Section 185 of the Motor Vehicle Act cannot be imposed on the accused as there is no proof that he was driving under the influence due to the delay in taking the blood sample of the accused Sriram. The case will be heard on the 6th of next month after ensuring that the accused is given a copy of the documents to be given before the trial. To speed up the trial, the court ordered that the prosecution and the defense should produce any additional evidence within 6 days.
