Kochi: Succumbing to the opposition against appointment of controversial bureaucrat Sriram Venkitaraman as Alappuzha Collector, the government today shifted him to a different department in Kochi. He will now serve as MD of Supplyco.
V R K Teja Mylavarapu will take charge as Alappuzha Collector. He will leave the post of director of Scheduled Caste and Schedule Tribe Development Department to take over as Collector.
Sriram was accused of driving his car at a very high speed in an inebriated condition and colliding with a two wheeler of a journalist K M Basheer who died due to injuries. Sriram was suspended for six months. Later, he was reinstated as joint director of Health Department during Covid pandamic amidst protests.
The car was owned by Sriram’s friend Wafa Firoz who claimed she was driving the car contrary to what the eye witnesses had said.
Sriram Venkitaraman, who is an allopathic doctor will face the trial as the first accused in the case. However, with the alleged help of police and doctors, the young bureaucrat was taken for alcohol test 9 hours after the accident and the test result proved negative.
He was appointed as the Alappuzha Collector less than a week ago. This led to widespread protest by various groups including journalists, political parties and All India Sunni Jamiyathul Ulama which runs Siraj newspaper, where KMB was the bureau chief.
It is learnt that Jamiyathul top leaders had expressed their extreme displeasure to chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan after holding massive protest rallies in front of all district collectorates on July 31, which prompted the government’s General Administration Department to come up with the transfer order today.
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