Kerala journalist death: Kerala HC rejects bail application of prime accused Sriram Venkitaraman

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday rejected the bail application filed by an officer IAS Sriram Venkitaraman in a journalist accident death case after observing that there was no need for custody investigation.

He was granted bail on August 6 after being in judicial custody for 14 days.

Venkitaraman was put behind bars for alleged drunken driving that caused the death of a journalist, Basheer (35) was killed after a speeding car driven by Sriram rammed into his bike in Thiruvananthapuram a few weeks back.

The IAS officer was returning from a party and was accompanied by a friend when the accident took place. He was reportedly in an inebriated state while driving the car.

Basheer, who was the Chief of the Trivandrum bureau of Malayalam daily Siraj, was rushed to a government hospital, but could not be saved. Sriram, who also sustained injuries in the accident, was also taken to a nearby hospital.

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.