THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: IAS official Sreeram Venkitaraman, who was responsible for the accidental death of journalist KM Basheer, has admitted to police that it was he himself who was behind the wheels when the accident occurred. However, Sreeram denied charges that he was in a drunken state when the accident took place.

Sreeram also repeated the same in the High Court. As no trace of alcohol was found from his blood sample, there is no need for him to be taken into police custody. Sreeram told the court that he was ready to cooperate with the investigation. He also pointed out that the media is attacking him personally by raising baseless accusations. According to him, the police must also investigate how the car's left side got damaged without the passenger getting injured.

Meanwhile, the government has informed the court Sreeram was driving the car at a very high speed. According to the prosecutor, Sreeram must be punished for manslaughter as he drove carelessly despite knowing that it was an accident-prone area. It is learnt the police have collected Sreeram's fingerprints for further investigation.