Kerala: Cops suspect doctors 'protected' IAS officer in drunk-driving case

Amid the probe into the drunk-driving accident involving the now-suspended IAS officer Sriram Venkitaraman, investigators suspect that the doctors at the Medical College Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram made a bid to prevent him from being taken to the jail in the days soon after the accident.

Statements of the doctors at a private hospital, where Venkitaraman was first admitted, have turned out to be crucial as police try to ascertain the collusion of the medicos with Venkitaraman, an alumnus of the institute who went on to become a civil servant.

Soon after the accident on August 3 in which a young journalist was killed, Venkitaraman was taken to the District General Hospital around 1am by the police. Though he was referred to the Medical College Hospital, Venkitaraman got himself admitted to a private hospital at Kumarapuram.

The doctor and assistant, who were on duty at the casualty care department on that day, told the probe team that Venkitaraman did not have any serious injuries when he was brought into the hospital.

Therefore, Venkitaraman was administered normal treatment for the minor injuries on his hands and back, the doctors said.

After reports emerged that Venkitaraman was getting ‘special treatment’ at the private hospital, he was discharged by evening and presented before the magistrate after he was booked over the accident.

Thereafter, he was taken to jail, but was shifted to the Medical College Hospital as per the superintendent's instructions. Instead of the police cell, Venkitaraman was admitted to the intensive care unit of the multi-speciality trauma care cell at the Medical College Hospital. It was likely a ploy to create an impression that Venkitaraman had serious injuries. The bureaucrat was likely helped by the doctors here.

The fact that Venkitaraman was an alumnus of the Medical College Hospital and that he was treated by his former teachers and batchmates strengthened the allegations of foul play.

The medical board too had issued a statement that Venkitaraman had suffered serious injuries in the accident in which the car driven by him hit the motorbike of the journalist. The doctors even claimed that Venkitaraman was suffering from retrograde amnesia, a medical condition in which a person forgets the events a couple of hours prior to a traumatic incident.

The probe team would check how Venkitaraman, who left the private hospital with only minor injuries, suddenly became a ‘seriously ill patient' on reaching the Medical College Hospital. The team has given a letter to the hospital, seeking the records of all the treatment administrated to Venkitaraman. The test results of Venkitaraman's X-ray, blood and scan reports would be assessed with the help of expert doctors.