The 2022 Protests by Muslims in Kerala were not about the IAS officer’s Hindu name but his alleged involvement in a fatal drunk driving case
A post (here, here and here) viral on social media claims that in Kerala, an IAS officer, Sriram Venkitaraman, was appointed as the District Collector (DM) of Alappuzha district, prompting thousands of Muslims to march in protest, demanding the cancellation of his appointment due to his name containing “Sriram.” Let’s investigate the truth behind this claim.
Claim: Thousands of Muslims protested against the appointment of civil service officer Sriram Venkitaraman as District Collector of Alappuzha, Kerala, because of ” Sriram ” in his name.
Fact: Sriram Venkitaraman, who was appointed as the Collector of Alappuzha district in Kerala in 2022, is alleged to have caused the death of a journalist named Basheer by driving under the influence of alcohol in 2019. As a result of this incident, Venkitaraman was suspended and arrested, but was later released on bail. Thousands of Muslims staged protests in various parts of Kerala against the Kerala government’s appointment of a man accused of being the main culprit in the death of a journalist as the District Collector of Alappuzha. The protests were not in opposition to his religion or the inclusion of ” Sriram ” in his name, but rather focused on the controversy surrounding his alleged involvement in the fatal accident. Therefore, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
A Google keyword search reveals that various organizations, including political parties, Muslim groups and organisations of journalists (here, here and here), protested against the appointment of IAS officer Sriram Venkitaraman as the District Collector of Alappuzha. According to The New Indian Express, on 31 July 2022, thousands of people participated in marches organized by Muslim organizations affiliated with the Sunni faction led by Kanthapuram A.P. Aboobacker Musaliyar in several parts of the Malabar region. The protests, held at multiple Collectorate offices, objected to Venkitaraman’s appointment due to his involvement in a 2019 case where he allegedly caused the death of journalist K.M. Basheer in a drunken driving incident, raising concerns over his suitability for a public-facing role
On 26 July 2022, IAS officer Sriram Venkitaraman assumed charge as the District Collector of Alappuzha. However, his appointment was met with widespread protests due to his involvement in a fatal road accident in 2019. Reports (here, here and here) from that time indicate that Venkitaraman, serving as a survey director in Kerala, was allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol when he hit and killed Senior journalist and Thiruvananthapuram bureau chief of Siraj Daily K.M. Basheer, who was on a two-wheeler. The incident occurred in the early hours of 03 August 2019, in the jurisdiction of the Museum Police Station in Thiruvananthapuram. Following the accident, Venkitaraman faced allegations of attempting to manipulate evidence and was suspended from his post by the Kerala government.
A copy of the FIR related to the 2019 accident involving IAS officer Sriram Venkitaraman, filed at the Thiruvananthapuram Museum Police Station, is available for reference, and the 2019 bail order issued by the Kerala High Court in this case can also be accessed. The accident, which caused the death of journalist K.M. Basheer, is still under investigation and is being handled by the Thiruvananthapuram District Court. Amid this unresolved legal case, the Kerala government reappointed Venkitaraman as the Joint Secretary in the Health Department during the COVID-19 pandemic, citing his administrative expertise in managing health-related initiatives.
In response to strong protests against the appointment of Sriram Venkitaraman as Alappuzha District Collector, the Kerala government removed him from the post and appointed him as the General Manager of the Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation Limited. In the recent civil service shuffle, he was allocated the role of Joint Secretary for Resources in the Finance Department and given the additional charge of Managing Director at The Kerala Financial Corporation. Based on the above details, it is clear that the Muslims who protested were not objecting to Venkitaraman’s appointment because of his name, as claimed in the viral post. The protests were primarily due to his involvement in a 2019 accident that led to the death of journalist K.M. Basheer.
To sum up, there was no religious angle to the protests by Muslims against a civil service officer in Kerala who was accused of a drunk driving incident that resulted in the death of a journalist.