Days after the accident which killed a senior Kerala journalist, the IAS officer who was driving the car allegedly is showing signs of retrograde amnesia, according to the doctors who are treating him.
“When we examined him this morning, we noted that he was presenting with some signs of retrograde amnesia,” says Dr Sharmad, the Medical Superintendent at the Government Medical College in Thiruvananthapuram. He also stated that Sriram may have a concussion, which could have been the reason that he is currently exhibiting signs of amnesia.
He added that this was a transit phenomenon and almost 30% people who underwent trauma showed signs of or suffered from retrograde amnesia. The doctor also said that this was not a serious condition and will not impact the case. With passage of time, some patients get their memory back.
Retrograde amnesia is a term used to refer to a form of temporary memory loss, usually due to a recent trauma or injury. In such an instance, a person will have difficulty recalling recent events but long term memory is usually not affected. However, what remains unclear is whether Sriram had sustained a head injury in the accident, as this was not mentioned by doctors or the police.
“When he was brought to the hospital, he underwent a CT scan which did not reveal the presence of any injuries, but the fact remains that an MRI was not done and that following a clean CT, we treated him based on the symptoms he was showing,” adds Sharmad.
It should be noted that an MRI scan reveals abnormalities in the soft tissue better than a CT scan would.
Neither doctors nor police were able to confirm whether Sriram had suffered any head injuries during the accident. The superintendent, however, did state that Sriram has been treated based on the symptoms he is presenting with.
On Saturday, Survey Director Sriram Venkitaraman, IAS, was travelling in the car that was allegedly speeding. He rammed into Basheer’s bike, who was then thrown off the bike. There has been a lot of controversy surrounding the case, particularly with regards to why there was such a long delay in checking his blood to determine how much alcohol was present in his blood.