Sriram Venkitaraman (born 28 November 1986) is an IAS officer and a medical doctor from Kerala. He is a former sub-collector of Devikulam and former collector of Alappuzha district for a very short term.
Sriram Venkitaraman | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | 28 November 1986 Panampilly Nagar, Kochi, Kerala, India |
| Spouse |
Renu Raj (m. 2022) |
| Education | |
| Alma mater | |
| Profession |
|
| Known for | Former Sub-Collector of Devikulam |
Early life and education
editSriram Venkitaraman was born on 28 November 1986 in Panampilly Nagar, Kochi, Kerala, to a Tamil father P. R. Venkitaraman, a retired zoology professor and a career consultant, and mother Rajam, a State Bank of India employee. He completed his school education at Bhavan's Vidya Mandir-Girinagar in 2004, obtained his M.B.B.S from the Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram in 2010, and joined for M.D. in General Medicine from Srirama Chandra Bhanja Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack, later dropped out to pursure Civil Service. He passed the Indian Civil Service Examination in his second attempt in 2012. He later pursued an MPH from Harvard University with a Fulbright scholarship.[2]
Career
editWhile 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.[3]
Homicide Case
editOn 3 August 2019, just two days after Sriram 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.[4]
Sriram and his friend Wafa Firoz were travelling in a Volkswagen Vento owned by Wafa, when he lost control over the wheels and hit Basheer near Museum Road.[5] Though his co-passenger said she was driving the car, eyewitnesses stated otherwise.[6]
He was suspended for six months and in March 2020, he was reinstated into the Health Department amidst protests by Basheer's family and became Joint Secretary in the Department of Health and Social Justice[7].[8][9]
Later he was appointed as District Collector of Alappuzha district. Though Pinarayi Vijayan, chief minister of Kerala justified the reinstating as a part of the process[10] several organizations like Kerala Union of Working Journalists protested following which he was transferred to the post of General manager Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation on 1 August 2022[11]
References
edit- ^ "IAS officers Sriram Venkitaraman, Renu Raj enter wedlock". 28 April 2022.
- ^ "Kerala IAS officer Sriram Venkataraman, who mowed down journalist, still in hospital, blood report awaited". The Indian Express. 4 August 2019.
- ^ "Revenue department takes over Munnar homestay | Kochi News". The Times of India. 2 April 2018. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
- ^ "IAS Officer Suspended After Kerala Journalist Dies In Accident". NDTV.com. NDTV. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
- ^ "IAS officer Sreeram Venkitaraman in deadly car crash that killed a journalist in Kerala granted bail". Gulf News. PTI. 6 August 2019.
- ^ "'Drunk' IAS officer Sriram Venkitaraman's car rams into bike, kills journalist". The Week. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
- ^ "IAS officer Sriram Venkitaraman reinstated in service". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
- ^ "Kerala journalist death: Sriram Venkitaraman suspended by Kerala government". The Hindu. PTI. 5 August 2019. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
- ^ "Devikulam sub-collector Sriram Venkitaraman 'evicted'". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
- ^ "Homicide-accused IAS officer's latest appointment a bureaucratic process: Kerala CM". OnManorama. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
- ^ "Kerala abruptly transfers top IAS officer Sriram Venkitaraman over protest threats". Economic times | Indiatimes. Retrieved 2 August 2022.