Kerala: Sriram Venkitraman Takes Over as Alappuzha Collector From Wife Renu Raj

It was a rare occasion on Tuesday when the outgoing district collector of Alappuzha Renu Raj handed over charge to Sriram Venkitraman, presently a joint secretary and her husband.

Thiruvananthapuram: It was a rare occasion on Tuesday when the outgoing district collector of Alappuzha Renu Raj handed over charge to Sriram Venkitraman, presently a joint secretary and her husband. While Renu Raj invited Venkitraman to take her seat and gave him a handshake, there was chaos outside the office with Congress-led UDF workers protesting seeking cancellation of his posting.

They were protesting against his posting as he was arrested and suspended from service for his involvement in an accident. In 2019, Venkitraman along with his woman friend Wafa Firoz who was driving a car at a high speed, hit and killed a journalist who was on a two-wheeler, here. He was reinstated in 2020 is currently on bail. The Congress is up in arms ever since he was posted as the new district collector at Alappuzha.

His posting, they say, is not acceptable as he by virtue of being the district collector will also hold the rank of a district magistrate and he himself being an ‘accused’ will not be able to deliver justice to the people. This April, the two Kerala cadre IAS officials, both medical doctors tied the knot.