Thiruvananthapuram ,29 July (H.S.):The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Kerala Crime Branch has registered a First Information Report (FIR) in connection with alleged irregularities in Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC) recruitment examinations, marking a significant step in the investigation that has been under way for the past two weeks.

The FIR, registered on Wednesday, does not name any accused. Senior officials associated with the investigation said the identities of those responsible would be added only after further inquiry and following due legal procedure. Investigators have, however, identified certain officials as suspects during the preliminary probe.

The FIR has been registered based on the complaint received. The names of the accused will be incorporated only after completing the required court procedures, a senior official said.

The SIT, headed by S. Ajeetha Begum, Inspector General of Police, Economic Offences Wing, has sought legal opinion before submitting its preliminary report to the Additional Director General of Police, Crime Branch, and the State Police Chief.

The case relates to alleged irregularities in a recruitment examination conducted by the Kerala PSC on July 13, 2023, for three senior Planning Board posts—Chief (Industry and Infrastructure), Chief (Perspective Planning Division) and Chief (Plan Coordination Division). A total of 228 candidates appeared for the examination.

The controversy surfaced after candidate Shyamkrishnan, who secured the third rank, obtained a copy of his answer script through the Right to Information (RTI) Act and discovered that answers to Questions 9 to 18 had not been evaluated during the digital On-Screen Marking (OSM) process. A subsequent internal verification by the PSC confirmed that the same 10 questions had remained unevaluated in the answer scripts of all 228 candidates.

Following the revelations, the State government ordered a Crime Branch investigation after obtaining legal advice from the Director General of Prosecution. The SIT has since examined key documents at the PSC headquarters and is also probing complaints related to other recruitment examinations. Officials said nearly 30 complaints have been received so far, with the investigation expected to widen in the coming days.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Arun Lakshman