SIT constituted to probe ‘irregularities’ in PSC exams

The police have issued orders constituting a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the alleged irregularities in various examinations conducted by the Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC)

A day after the State Cabinet ordered a Crime Branch investigation into the allegations, State Police Chief Ravada A. Chandrasekhar formally appointed S. Ajeetha Begum, Inspector General of Police, Economic Offence Wing Headquarters, as its chairperson. The SIT will also comprise Zacharia Mathew, Superintendent of Police, NRI Cell, and Ajayanath G, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Crime Branch Headquarters.

Functioning under the supervision of the Additional Director General of Police, Crime Branch, the SIT has also been empowered to co-opt extra personnel and mandated to submit strict fortnightly progress reports to ensure accountability.

The Cabinet decision followed a slew of complaints regarding the evaluation of answer sheets in the examinations conducted to the posts of Chief of Industry and Infrastructure, Chief of Perspective Planning. and Chief of Planning Coordination held in July 2023. Some candidates accused the PSC of manipulating the examination process to benefit a few examinees, purportedly affiliated to Left organisations.

The developments also gave way to protests by the Youth Congress and Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha at the PSC headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram.

Minister for Youth Affairs O.J. Janeesh, also the State president of the Youth Congress, claimed that the United Democratic Front government had received complaints about irregularities in other recruitment too, including those to Kerala Administrative Service and the Information and Public Relations department.

He demanded a detailed probe into the examinations conducted by the PSC during the last ten years when the Left Democratic Front governments led by Pinarayi Vijayan were in power.

The Director of the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau sought government clearance under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, to probe the officials suspected to be involved in the case.

Later, following legal consultations with the Director General of Prosecution, the government decided to entrust the case to the Crime Branch to institute a sweeping, comprehensive inquiry.