A celebrated IAS officer in Kerala who has often taken on the high and mighty in his crackdown on illegal encroachments has been arrested for alleged drink-driving that resulted in the death of a journalist when the young bureaucrat was returning from a dinner to celebrate his rejoining work after a stint at Harvard University.

Sriram Venkitaraman, 32, appointed director of the Directorate of Survey and Land Records on Friday, was allegedly speeding after a party in Thiruvananthapuram early on Saturday when he rammed into the motorbike of K.M. Basheer, the chief of bureau of the Siraj daily for the Kerala capital. The 35-year-old journalist, who was flung in the air and hit a boundary wall of a government building close to a museum, died instantly.

Some autorickshaw drivers who were nearby were the first to reach the spot after the accident around 1am.

Personnel arrived from the Museum police station 100 metres away. Sources said an allegedly drunk Venkitaraman and his female friend were trying to help Basheer.

High drama followed as the police were accused of shielding Venkitaraman, who at the peak of his popularity as Devikulam sub-collector had courted controversy by razing a giant Cross installed on a large swathe of encroached land by a Christian group in 2017.

The police finally arrested him in the evening.

Venkitaraman has been booked under IPC Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), a non-bailable offence that carries a maximum punishment of life in jail. A native of Kochi, Venkitaraman had come second in the 2012 UPSC exam.

Earlier in the day, journalists in Thiruvananthapuram had accused the police of trying to provide escape routes to the IAS officer by not recording his statement, conducting the medical examination that is mandatory in cases of drink-driving and arresting him.

The police also allowed Venkitaraman to get admitted at a private hospital, against the norms that allow for admission in a government facility.

Venkitaraman has suffered injuries in both hands. The police had first taken him to General Hospital, but on his alleged insistence was shifted to the private Kerala Institute of Medical Sciences.

Although Venkitaraman’s female friend, a model, had initially claimed that she was at the wheels of the Volkswagen Vento, she changed her statement and told the police that the IAS officer was driving the car at the time of the accident.

An MBBS degree-holder, Venkitaraman had returned to Kerala five days ago after completing his master’s in public health from Harvard University.

According to his female friend’s statement, Venkitaraman was at the dinner party to mark his return to service. The friend said Venkitaraman asked her to pick him up after the party and insisted on driving.

Assistant commissioner of police Suneesh Babu told reporters that there was no doubt about who was driving the car. “We have evidence and eyewitness statements to show who was driving,” the officer said.

Basheer was heading home after a promotion council meeting of the newspaper in Kollam. He had taken a train and arrived at Thiruvananthapuram late at night. Basheer is survived by his mother Thithachumma, wife Jaseela, and children Janna and Asmi.

After a public viewing in Thiruvananthapuram where many political leaders paid their last respects, the body was taken to his father’s native place, Vadakara in Kozhikode district. The burial is scheduled to take place by midnight next to his father’s grave.

Venkitaraman had been widely applauded for his work as sub-collector of Devikulam, where he had cracked the whip on encroachment of government land. He had become an instant hit among the local people when he ditched his official car for his personal Royal Enfield motorcycle.

Backed by revenue minister E. Chandrashekaran of the CPI, he had launched an anti-encroachment drive in April 2017 that rubbed many politicians the wrong way.

But CPM leaders such as minister M.M. Mani and Devikulam MLA Rajendran went against the officer as some of the land he had recovered had been encroached by people close to the ruling party.

The government shunted Venkitaraman out and posted him as director of the Employment Exchange. He then took a sabbatical to pursue his higher studies.