Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 31 (PTI) The Crime Branch has registered a fresh case after finding that 45 questions in the Kerala PSC Assistant Motor Vehicle Inspector recruitment examination were copied verbatim from online study material, officials said on Saturday.
The case was registered on Friday based on a complaint filed by Rahul Raj, a resident of Perumbavoor in Ernakulam district, against unidentified Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC) officials.
According to the FIR, the alleged irregularities include the inclusion of candidates who did not meet the prescribed physical standards and the addition of two courses to the list of eligible qualifications, beyond those specified in the recruitment notification, before the application deadline.
The FIR specifically alleges that 45 questions in the examination were copied verbatim from online study material platforms, including Scamveda Online Study Materials and Sanfoundry.com.
The alleged irregularities resulted in the selection of ineligible candidates from the rank list published on September 2, 2024, thereby depriving eligible candidates of employment opportunities, the FIR said.
The case has been registered under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The Crime Branch has named the PSC chairman, members and officials as accused in another case relating to the recruitment examination for Fisheries Extension Officer posts in the Fisheries Department, notified in August 2020, officials said.
In the case registered on October 28, the Crime Branch alleged that the rank list published on November 28, 2022, and valid until November 28, 2025, favoured candidates from the Kerala University of Fisheries and Oceanic Science (KUFOS) who were close to the PSC chairman, members and CPI(M)-sympathising officials. This allegedly denied other eligible candidates equal opportunities and undermined public trust in the recruitment body.
The Crime Branch has also registered two more cases concerning alleged irregularities and nepotism in recruitment to the posts of Khadi Board and Village Oil Inspector, and to the State Planning Board, officials said.
The state government had constituted a Crime Branch Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe alleged irregularities in the PSC recruitment examination for posts in the State Planning Board.
The investigation found that 10 descriptive questions in Economics, carrying a total of 58 marks, had not been assigned to the appropriate evaluators due to errors in the On-Screen Marking (OSM) system, leaving the answer sheets unevaluated.
Following a complaint by Shyam Krishna, who had initially secured the third rank, a revaluation was conducted, after which he moved to the first rank. Arun J Pradeep, who had initially secured the first rank, slipped to fifth place following the revaluation, officials said.
The Crime Branch subsequently expanded its investigation to cover alleged irregularities in other recruitment examinations conducted by the PSC.
Two PSC officials were arrested in the State Planning Board recruitment case, while the investigation team also questioned PSC chairman MR Baiju and other members.
PSC Secretary Saju George appeared before the Crime Branch on Saturday for questioning, officials said.
He arrived at the Crime Branch office in the afternoon after receiving a notice from the investigation team.
The investigation team has also issued a notice to PSC Examination Controller Bini K Abraham, asking her to appear before it on Monday, officials said.
Separately, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) on Saturday took out a protest march to the Secretariat here, demanding action against the Kerala PSC.
Police erected barricades along the route to stop the march. Officials said multiple rounds of water cannons were used to disperse the protesters after they allegedly attempted to remove the barricades.
The ABVP is staging a round-the-clock protest in front of the Secretariat, officials said.
Senior BJP leader and MLA V Muraleedharan visited the protesting ABVP activists and expressed solidarity with their agitation. PTI TBA SSK
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