THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Thiruvananthapuram unit of the Crime Branch has begun a detailed probe into the mark tampering incident at Kerala University, suggesting that the agency was not fully convinced with the varsity’s explanation that glitches in the software had resulted in the gaffe. The detailed probe was ordered by State Police Chief Lokanath Behera on Tuesday, after which Crime Branch initiated the probe. The CB team led by Crime Detachment Wing assistant commissioner M Santhosh Kumar in their preliminary probe report, stated there were strong possibilities of wilful manipulation and manual tampering of the documents.
Though varsity officials said they suspected the manipulations were made on two dates, the report by Crime Branch sleuths to Behera, hinted at manipulations was conducted on more than two dates. “We will do a detailed probe as directed by the Police Chief. It’s too early to comment on the probe,” said Crime Branch SP A Shanavas.
A senior Crime Branch officer had earlier told TNIE that the panel members did not have evidence to prove that software error alone resulted in the blunder. “First of all, they are not technical experts to reach the conclusion. Secondly, our probe has revealed there was a strong chance that the manipulation could have been enforced manually,” he said. In the coming days, the agency will examine scientific evidences and back up data they secured from the University Computer Centre.