Thiruvananthapuram: Six doctors, including a forensic surgeon, appeared before the Thiruvananthapuram additional district court on Thursday as prosecution witnesses in the trial related to the death of K M Basheer, Siraj Daily’s Thiruvananthapuram unit chief.Basheer was killed after a car allegedly driven by IAS officer Sriram Venkitaraman knocked down his motorcycle near Museum Junction early on Aug 3, 2019. Venkitaraman was allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol.The witnesses appeared before the court following a prosecution petition seeking time for examining the witnesses from the medical field. Judge Sudhakanth is conducting the trial.The witnesses who appeared included Dr K Valsala, assistant professor in forensic medicine at Thiruvananthapuram Govt Medical College Hospital and the police surgeon. Dr Rakesh S Kumar, casualty medical officer at General Hospital and Dr Rakesh Thampi, chief medical officer at the hospital, also appeared before the court.Three doctors from KIMS Hospital — Masalvo Glady Louis, Sanoop Koshi Zacharia and Mani Varghese — were also present.The doctors are expected to depose on the medical aspects of the case, including the treatment provided to those involved in the accident and other matters recorded in the documents. Their testimonies are expected to form part of the prosecution’s evidence in establishing the circumstances surrounding the crash and Basheer’s death.
