Car driven by IAS officer mows down journalist in Kerala
Thiruvananthapuram: A 35-year-old journalist was killed when his motorcycle was hit by a car driven by an IAS officer here early Saturday, police said.
Survey Director Sreeram Venkitaraman was driving the car which rammed into K Muhammed Basheer's motorcycle, killing him on the spot. The incident happened around 1 am, police said.
Basheer was Thiruvananthapuram bureau chief of Malayalam daily Siraj.
"There were conflicting statements. We have now confirmed from independent witnesses that Sreeram Venkitaraman was driving the vehicle," Thiruvananthapuram Police Commissioner Dhinendra Kashyap told PTI.
The blood samples of the official has also been taken, he said. A woman was also in the car when the accident took place, police said. Eyewitness told reporters that a man, in an inebriate state, was driving the car rashly.
While the young IAS officer reportedly told police that his friend, the woman, was driving the car, a senior police official told PTI that the woman has in her statement said Venkitaraman was behind the wheels.
Earlier, the police had said blood sample of one person had been taken, while some legal formalities have to be followed for collecting the samples of the other person.
The official did not say whose blood samples had been taken.
"Legal formalities have to be followed. Law says you cannot compel someone to give samples.. we have to follow some legal formalities to take blood samples," said Sanjay Kumar Gurudin, Deputy Inspector General (Thiruvananthapuram-Range).
Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) has demanded a proper and truthful investigation in the case. Gurudin has assured media personnel that the probe would be done scientifically.
Venkitaraman, who is also said to be injured, has been admitted to a private hospital.
A case has been registered under section IPC279 (rash driving on a public way) and 304A (punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder), police said.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala and Devaswom minister Kadakkampally Surendran were among those who expressed grief at the death of the journalist, who left behind his wife and two children.
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K'taka bypolls: 11.87 percent voter turnout in Bagalkot, 9.01 percent in Davanagere South till 9 am
Bengaluru (PTI): In the first two hours since voting began for bypolls to two Bagalkot and Davanagere South assembly constituencies, the voter turnout stood at 11.87 percent and 9.01 percent, respectively, on Thursday.
The voting for the bypolls in two constituencies necessitated by the deaths of senior Congress MLAs H Y Meti and Shamanur Shivashankarappa, began at 7 am, the office of the Chief Electoral Officer said.
While the Congress faces the challenge of retaining both seats, the BJP is aiming to wrest them and deliver a setback to the ruling party, which is currently witnessing an "internal power struggle" over leadership.
A total of over 2.59 lakh eligible voters are expected to cast their votes at around 319 polling stations in Bagalkot, where nine candidates are in the fray.
In Davanagere South, over 2.31 lakh eligible voters are expected to vote across 284 polling stations, with 25 candidates contesting.
Officials said elaborate security arrangements have been made for the smooth conduct of bypolls.
The BJP has fielded former MLA and 2023 defeated candidate Veerabhadrayya Charantimath from Bagalkot, and a fresh face, Srinivas T Dasakariyappa, from Davanagere South.
The Congress has given tickets to family members of the late legislators in both constituencies. Bagalkot candidate Umesh Meti is the son of H Y Meti, while Samarth Mallikarjun from Davanagere South is the grandson of Shamanur Shivashankarappa.
Samarth’s father, S S Mallikarjun, is a minister in the Siddaramaiah-led Cabinet and in charge of Davanagere district, while his mother, Prabha Mallikarjun, is a Member of Parliament from the region.
In the 2023 Assembly elections, H Y Meti defeated BJP’s Charantimath by a margin of 5,878 votes in Bagalkot, while Shivashankarappa defeated BJP’s B G Ajay Kumar by 27,888 votes in Davanagere South.
