Not drunk and was not driving the car: Sriram Venkitaraman

Thiruvananthapuram: In his seven-page explanatory note to the chief secretary on Wednesday, suspended IAS officer Sriram Venkataraman said he had been neither drunk nor driving the car involved in the accident killing media person K M Basheer.  

Sriram Venkataraman requests in the note to the authorities to revoke his suspension, hearing his side. While stressing that he is not a habitual drinker, he said Wafa, his friend, was driving the car at the time of accident.

“The accident was not a deliberate one. When it happened, I had tried to rush Basheer to hospital. Witnesses account that I was drunk is false and doctors have not been able to find traces of alcohol in my blood,” he explained.

However, the government has extended Sriram’s suspension by another six months.