Shashwati Chowdhury
Published on: August 26, 2022 at 17:30 IST
A request for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) investigation has been made to the Kerala High Court by the brother of the late KM Basheer, who died in an alleged road rage incident involving IAS Official Sriram Venkitaraman [Abdurahiman v. State of Kerala & Ors.].
The petitioner contended that his brother Basheer was purposefully killed by his acquaintance, an influential IAS Officer, who intentionally hit him with his car.
According to the plea, Basheer had received some evidence, including a video, before his showing Venkitaraman’s illicit relationship with Wafa Firoz, who is listed as the second accused in the aforementioned offence.
When Venkitaraman learnt of this, he tried to get the material but was unsuccessful, so he decided to murder Basheer, the petitioner contended.
Following the death of Basheer on August 3, 2019, Museum Police in Thiruvananthapuram completed their investigation and submitted a charge sheet to the Sessions Court in Thiruvananthapuram, where it is still pending.
The petitioner submitted that Venkitaraman has always received assistance from the police.
It was argued that the police intentionally chose not to conduct his medical examination and blood tests, despite the fact that it was obvious he was intoxicated when he was arrested and transferred to the district hospital, in order to shield him from liability.
Even though the district hospital had referred him to the medical college, the plea claimed that Venkitaraman used his power to break protocol and make sure he was transported to KIMS Hospital for additional operations. In a statement to the prosecution, a staff nurse at the KIMS hospital said that the accused intimidated her when she approached to take his blood, according to the plea.
The petitioner also brought up a number of additional discrepancies, including gaps in the Mahazar and the time the police claimed to have reached the scene.
The petitioner stated that, as a result, he is compelled to petition the High Court to move the probe to the CBI, an agency outside of Venkitaraman’s sphere of influence.
The petitioner is being represented by lawyers PT Sheejeesh, P Martin Kose, Abdul Rahman A, and T Varnibha.
Recently, numerous groups from all over the state, including the Kerala Union of Working Journalists, protested the choice of Venkitaraman to serve as the Alappuzha District Collector.
Social media users widely shared one such protest, which was held by the Kerala Muslim Jamaath.
