The Kerala Crime Branch is expanding its Special Investigation Team to probe alleged irregularities in Public Service Commission recruitment exams [1].
The investigation targets potential systemic fraud within the state's civil service hiring process. Because the commission manages thousands of government appointments, any breach of integrity threatens the meritocracy of the state's administrative framework.
Investigators focused on exams for planning board posts after uncovering significant discrepancies in the evaluation process [1]. According to reports, the probe revealed 10 unevaluated questions in the exam [2]. This failure in the grading process affected 228 candidates [2].
To manage the growing scope of the case, the Crime Branch added seven more officers to the Special Investigation Team [3]. The expansion allows the team to handle a wider array of evidence as the probe widens to include more officials [1].
Earlier this month, the SIT requested critical documents regarding exams for key posts to determine the extent of the manipulation [4]. The Crime Branch has registered a formal case and included several officials as accused parties in the fraud investigation [2].
Authorities in Thiruvananthapuram are now reviewing whether these irregularities were isolated incidents or part of a broader pattern of corruption within the commission [1]. The investigation continues to examine how the unevaluated questions were overlooked and who benefited from the resulting scoring errors [2].
“The probe revealed 10 unevaluated questions in the exam.”
The expansion of the SIT suggests that the Kerala Crime Branch has found evidence that the exam irregularities were not mere clerical errors but potentially coordinated fraud. By adding personnel and naming officials as accused, the state is signaling a shift from a preliminary inquiry to a full-scale criminal investigation into the PSC's operational integrity.
