Kerala PSC recruitment probe widens, fresh case filed over 45 copied questions

The Kerala Crime Branch has registered a fresh case over alleged irregularities in a Kerala Public Service Commission recruitment examination after finding that 45 questions had been copied verbatim from online study material, news agency Press Trust of India reported on Saturday.

The case relates to the examination for Assistant Motor Vehicle Inspector posts and is part of a wider investigation into alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations conducted by the commission.

The case was registered on Friday following a complaint by Rahul Raj, a resident of Perumbavoor in Ernakulam district, against unidentified Kerala PSC officials.

According to the FIR, the alleged irregularities included allowing candidates who did not meet the prescribed physical standards and adding two courses to the list of eligible qualifications before the application deadline, although these were not specified in the recruitment notification.

The FIR alleged that 45 examination questions were copied verbatim from online study material platforms, including Scamveda Online Study Materials and Sanfoundry.com.

It said the alleged irregularities resulted in ineligible candidates being selected from the rank list published on 2 September 2024, depriving eligible candidates of employment opportunities. The case has been registered under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Prevention of Corruption Act.

In another case, the Crime Branch has named the PSC chairman, members and officials as accused over the recruitment examination for Fisheries Extension Officer posts in the Fisheries Department, which was notified in August 2020, officials told PTI.

The case, registered on 28 October, relates to a rank list published on 28 November 2022 and valid until 28 November 2025. The Crime Branch alleged that it favoured candidates from KUFOS who were close to the PSC chairman, members and officials sympathetic to the CPI(M). This allegedly denied eligible candidates equal opportunities and undermined public trust in the recruitment body.

The Crime Branch has also registered two cases over alleged irregularities and nepotism in recruitment to posts connected with the Khadi Board and Village Oil Inspector, and the State Planning Board, officials said.

The state government had formed a Crime Branch Special Investigation Team to investigate alleged irregularities in the PSC recruitment examination for State Planning Board posts.

The investigation found that 10 descriptive questions in Economics, carrying a total of 58 marks, had not been assigned to the appropriate evaluators because of errors in the On Screen Marking system. As a result, the answer sheets were not evaluated.

A revaluation was conducted following a complaint by Shyam Krishna, who had initially secured the third rank. He moved to the first rank after the revaluation, while Arun J Pradeep, who had initially ranked first, moved to fifth place, officials told PTI.

The Crime Branch subsequently widened its investigation to cover alleged irregularities in other PSC recruitment examinations. Two PSC officials were arrested, while the investigation team questioned PSC chairman MR Baiju and other members.

The widening investigation now covers several PSC recruitment examinations, including those for Assistant Motor Vehicle Inspector, Fisheries Extension Officer and State Planning Board posts, with cases alleging copied questions, qualification and evaluation irregularities, and nepotism.- Ends