Sriram Venkitaraman

Sriram Venkitaraman (born 28 November 1986) is an Indian bureaucrat and physician who belongs to the Indian Administrative Service in Kerala. He served as the sub collector in Thiruvalla and Devikulam. Later he was appointed as the Director of Employment.

Sriram Venkitaraman
Born (1986-11-28) 28 November 1986
Panampilly Nagar, Ernakulam, Kerala, India
Alma mater
Known forFormer Sub-Collector of Devikulam, Joint Secretary in the Department of Health and Social Justice, Kerala

On 3 August 2019, just two days after he was appointed as the Director of Land survey department he was suspended from government service due to his involvement in a drunken driving car crash that resulted in the death of a senior Kerala journalist K. M. Basheer. The accident happened in the early hours of August 3, 2019.Sriram along with his women friend Wafa Firoz was travelling in a Volkswagen Vento owned by Wafa, when he lost his control over the wheels and hit Basheer near the Museum Road.[1]

He was under suspension for six months and in March 2020, he was reinstated into the Health Department amidst the protests by Basheer's family and media fraternity, and is currently the Joint Secretary in the Department of Health and Social Justice,[2] Kerala.[3][4]

Early life and education

Sriram Venkitaraman was born on 28 November 1986 in Panampilly Nagar, Kerala to father Dr. P. R. Venkitaraman, a retired zoology professor and a career consultant, and mother Rajam, an SBI employee. He completed his school education from Bhavan's Vidya Mandir-Girinagar in 2004 and M.B.B.S from the Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram, and joined for his M.D. at Srirama Chandra Bhanja Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack. He passed the Indian Civil Service Examination in his second attempt in 2012. He later pursued MPH from Harvard University with Fulbright Scholarship.[5]

Career

His anti-encroachment demolition actions gained attention during his tenure. While Venkitaraman was the sub-collector of Devikulam, he oversaw the demolition of 92 illegally constructed buildings in Munnar and served notices to about 100 resorts and unauthorized constructions at the ecologically sensitive villages in Devikulam taluk. During his tenure, the revenue department took over the Lovedale homestay in Munnar and converted it into the Munnar village office. He took a sabbatical from government service for higher studies and went on to earn a master's in Public Health from Harvard.[6]

Sriram Venkitaraman was arrested for rash and negligent driving in an intoxicated state along with his women friend Wafa Firoz, after he allegedly hit and killed a journalist in a road traffic accident. Though his co-passenger was driving the car, eyewitnesses stated otherwise.[7] Venkitaraman, who was appointed as the director of Survey and Land Records, was suspended from government service after the incident.[8]

References
  1. "IAS officer Sreeram Venkitaraman in deadly car crash that killed a journalist in Kerala granted bail". Gulf News. PTI. 6 August 2019.
  2. "IAS officer Sriram Venkitaraman reinstated in service". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  3. "Kerala journalist death: Sriram Venkitaraman suspended by Kerala government". The Hindu. PTI. 5 August 2019. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  4. "Devikulam sub-collector Sriram Venkitaraman 'evicted'". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  5. "Kerala IAS officer Sriram Venkataraman, who mowed down journalist, still in hospital, blood report awaited". The Indian Express. 4 August 2019.
  6. "Revenue department takes over Munnar homestay | Kochi News". The Times of India. 2 April 2018. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
  7. "'Drunk' IAS officer Sriram Venkitaraman's car rams into bike, kills journalist". The Week. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  8. "IAS Officer Suspended After Kerala Journalist Dies In Accident". NDTV.com. NDTV. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
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