Thiruvananthapuram, 11 September (H.S.):

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing alleged irregularities in a Kerala Public Service Commission recruitment examination will recommend the removal of two officials serving in the State Planning Board after detecting serious procedural violations in the valuation process.

The officials are Arun J Prathap, Chief of the Industry and Infrastructure Division, and Sajimon S, Chief of the Plan Co-ordination Division. The SIT will write to the State government seeking their removal, said Ajeetha Begum, Inspector General of the Economic Offence Wing, who heads the investigation.

The agency has also recommended departmental action against the camp officer, supervisor and two other officials associated with the valuation of answer scripts.

The case relates to a common recruitment examination conducted on July 13, 2023, for three Planning Board posts: Chief of Industry and Infrastructure, Chief of Perspective Planning, and Chief of Plan Co-ordination. Altogether, 228 candidates appeared for the test.

The irregularity emerged after third-ranked candidate Shyam Krishna obtained his answer script under the Right to Information Act. It showed that answers to Questions 9 to 18 had not been assessed during the digital On-Screen Marking process.

A subsequent PSC verification found that the same 10 questions, carrying 58 marks, remained unevaluated in the Paper 1 scripts of all 228 candidates. Each post had two descriptive papers carrying 100 marks each, with Paper 1 common to all three examinations.

According to the SIT, evaluating the omitted answers would have pushed the first-ranked candidate to the 20th position, potentially making other candidates eligible for appointment. Investigators found that the top-ranked candidate had not answered six omitted questions.

The SIT will now examine whether the violations were deliberate or intended to favour any candidate. Statements from PSC members will also be recorded. A related recruitment case remains pending before the Administrative Tribunal in Kerala.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Arun Lakshman