THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Putting things into motion, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the alleged malpractices in the PSC recruitment exams scrutinised the documents at the PSC head office on Thursday. The verified documents pertained to the examinations conducted for the chief-level posts in the Planning Board, sources said.
The documents, sources added, included rank lists, tabular sheets, mark lists of the exams and interview mark lists. The sleuths also collected periphery details of the e-file management system being used by the PSC. The e-file management system will be subjected to detailed scrutiny in the coming days, sources added.
The SIT has asked for the documents to be officially handed over to them by PSC on Friday. After perusing the documents, an FIR is most likely to be registered in the weekend.
The sources said the SIT has set its eyes primarily on the examinations conducted for the key vacancies in the Planning Board. The SIT’s initial assessment is that the complaints against those examinations have enough materials to register a case. The SIT collected the statements of the PSC staff also on Thursday and the whole exercise was completed in about three hours.
Meanwhile, the statements of three more complainants have been recorded. Multiple complaints have been lodged against various PSC exams and so far the SIT has recorded statements of about 10 complainants.
The SIT manpower, meanwhile, has been increased to 11 as eight more personnel were co-opted recently owing to the scale of the investigation. More officers will be attached to the team once a case is registered, sources added.
The government had initially decided to conduct a vigilance probe, but later opted for a crime branch investigation. The legal opinion from the Director General of Prosecution had cited that the crime branch being a specialised wing has the legal ambit to investigate crimes of all sorts, while the vigilance can only probe offences which fall under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
PSC row: BJP seeks probe
T’Puram: Alleging that the citizens have lost trust in the PSC and its board members, the BJP on Thursday demanded a comprehensive probe into the PSC appointment malpractice controversy. BJP national executive member P K Krishnadas said that the government should immediately dismiss the PSC chairman and board members.
