‘Daughter won’t accept prize from a killer’: Parent’s protest at event involving IAS Officer Sriram Venkitaraman

KOZHIKODE: A parent refused to accept a prize from Agriculture Department Director Sriram Venkitaraman at the prize distribution ceremony of a kids’ swimming competition organised by Calicut Peddlers in Kozhikode. The parent said their daughter would not accept the prize from Sriram, who is the sole accused in the case relating to the death of journalist K M Basheer in a road accident.

After the parent publicly said that their daughter would not accept a prize from a “killer”, Sriram Venkitaraman withdrew from the prize distribution ceremony. The Assistant Collector, who was present at the event, then distributed the prizes to the children.

The swimming competition was held at a swimming pool in Cherooty Nagar. The incident took place during the certificate distribution ceremony held after the competition.

Sriram Venkitaraman, an IAS officer, is the sole accused in the case relating to Basheer’s death. Wafa Firoz, who was initially named as the second accused, was later dropped from the charge sheet by the court.

Earlier, Sriram had left a press conference attended by Agriculture Minister Siddiq following protests by journalists over his presence.
K M Basheer was killed in a road accident on August 3, 2019.