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{{Short description|A civil servant from Kerala, India (born 1986)}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Sriram Venkitaraman
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1986|11|28|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Panampilly Nagar, Ernakulam, Kerala]], India
| alma_mater = {{Unbulleted_list|[[Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram]]|[[Srirama Chandra Bhanja Medical College and Hospital|Srirama Chandra Bhanja Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack]]|[[Harvard University|Harvard University, Massachusetts]]}}
| known_for = Former Sub-Collector of [[Devikulam]], Joint Secretary in the Department of Health and Social Justice, Kerala
| spouse =
}}

'''Sriram Venkitaraman''' (born 28 November 1986) is an Indian bureaucrat and [[physician]] who belongs to the [[Indian Administrative Service]] in [[Kerala]]. He served as the sub collector in Thiruvalla and Devikulam. Later he was appointed as the Director of Employment.

On 3 August 2019, just two days after he was appointed as the Director of Land survey department he was suspended from government service due to his involvement in a drunken driving car crash that resulted in the death of a senior Kerala journalist K. M. Basheer. The accident happened in the early hours of August 3, 2019.Sriram along with his women friend Wafa Firoz was travelling in a Volkswagen Vento owned by Wafa, when he lost his control over the wheels and hit Basheer near the Museum Road.<ref>{{Cite news|date=6 August 2019|title=IAS officer Sreeram Venkitaraman in deadly car crash that killed a journalist in Kerala granted bail|language=en-IN|work=[[Gulf News]]|agency=[[Press Trust of India|PTI]]|url=https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/india/ias-officer-sreeram-venkitaraman-in-deadly-car-crash-that-killed-a-journalist-in-kerala-granted-bail-1.1565092928662}}</ref>

He was under suspension for six months and in March 2020, he was reinstated into the Health Department amidst the protests by Basheer's family and media fraternity, and is currently the Joint Secretary in the Department of Health and Social Justice,<ref>{{cite news |title=IAS officer Sriram Venkitaraman reinstated in service |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/2020/mar/22/ias-officer-sriram-venkitaraman-reinstated-in-service-2120153.html |access-date=22 March 2020 |work=The New Indian Express}}</ref> Kerala.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/kerala-journalist-death-sriram-venkitaraman-suspended-by-kerala-government/article28823944.ece |title=Kerala journalist death: Sriram Venkitaraman suspended by Kerala government |date=5 August 2019 |work=[[The Hindu]] |access-date=2019-09-22 |agency=[[Press Trust of India|PTI]] |language=en-IN |issn=0971-751X}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Devikulam sub-collector Sriram Venkitaraman ‘evicted’|url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/2017/jul/06/devikulam-sub-collector-sriram-venkitaraman-evicted-1624784.html|access-date=2020-06-03|website=The New Indian Express}}</ref>

==Early life and education==
Venkitaraman was born on 28 November 1986 in [[Panampilly Nagar]], [[Kerala]] to father Dr. P. R. Venkitaraman, a retired [[zoology]] professor and a career consultant, and mother Rajam, an [[State Bank of India|SBI]] employee. He completed his school education from Bhavan's Vidya Mandir-Girinagar in 2004 and [[M.B.B.S]] from the [[Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram]], and joined for his M.D. at [[Srirama Chandra Bhanja Medical College and Hospital|Srirama Chandra Bhanja Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack]]. He passed the Indian [[Civil Service Examination]] in his second attempt in 2012. He later pursued MPH from [[Harvard University]] with [[Fulbright]] Scholarship.<ref>{{cite news |title=Kerala IAS officer Sriram Venkataraman, who mowed down journalist, still in hospital, blood report awaited |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/kerala-ias-officer-sriram-venkataraman-who-mowed-down-journalist-still-in-hospital-blood-report-awaited-5877307/ |work=The Indian Express |date=4 August 2019 |language=en-IN}}</ref>

==Career==
His anti-encroachment demolition actions gained attention during his tenure. While Venkitaraman was the sub-collector of [[Devikulam]], he oversaw the demolition of 92 illegally constructed buildings in [[Munnar]] and served notices to about 100 resorts and unauthorized constructions at the ecologically sensitive villages in Devikulam ''[[taluk]]''. During his tenure, the revenue department took over the Lovedale homestay in Munnar and converted it into the Munnar village office. He took a sabbatical from government service for higher studies and went on to earn a master's in Public Health from Harvard.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kochi/revenue-department-takes-over-munnar-homestay/articleshow/63573880.cms |title=Revenue department takes over Munnar homestay {{!}} Kochi News |date=2 April 2018 |website=[[The Times of India]] |language=en |access-date=2019-09-06 }}</ref>

==Legal issues==
Sriram Venkitaraman was arrested for rash and negligent driving in an intoxicated state along with his women friend Wafa Firoz, after he allegedly hit and killed a journalist in a road traffic accident. He is alleged to have claimed that his co-passenger was driving the car but eyewitnesses stated otherwise.<ref>{{cite news |title='Drunk' IAS officer Sriram Venkitaraman's car rams into bike, kills journalist |url=https://www.theweek.in/news/india/2019/08/03/drunk-ias-officer-sriram-venkitaraman-car-rams-into-bike-kills-journalist.html |access-date=6 August 2019 |work=The Week |language=en}}</ref> Venkitaraman, who was appointed as the director of Survey and Land Records, was suspended from government service after the incident.<ref name = "suspended">{{cite news |title=IAS Officer Suspended After Kerala Journalist Dies In Accident |url=https://www.ndtv.com/thiruvananthapuram-news/ias-officer-sriram-venkataraman-suspended-after-kerala-journalist-km-basheer-dies-in-accident-2080772 |access-date=6 August 2019 |work=NDTV.com |agency=NDTV}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Authority control}}
{{Indian Civil Servants}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Venkitaraman, Sriram}}
[[Category:1986 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Harvard University alumni]]
[[Category:Indian Administrative Service officers]]
[[Category:Indian Administrative Service Officers from Kerala]]
[[Category:Civil Servants from Kerala]]
[[Category:District magistrate]]

Sriram Venkitaraman - Revision history

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