SFI leaders Shivaranjith admits PSC malpractice

Thiruvananthapuram: SFI leaders Shivaranjith and Nasim, accused of stabbing a colleague on the University College campus, have admitted to cheating in PSC exams for police recruitments.

Shivaranjith had topped the rank list, and Naseem came 28th, in the civil police officer test conducted in July 2018.

Pranav, who got second rank, is also an accused in the case of stabbing Akhil Chandran, a national-level powerlifting champion, on July 12.

They admitted receiving answers to 70 per cent of the questions on SMS.

However, the Crime Branch did not get clear proof on how they got the question papers. The statement of accused was recorded at Poojappura Central Jail. The rank list was published on July 1, 2019.

Both Shivaranjith and Nazeen failed to answer a single question from the same PSC paper when the CB asked.

Shivaranjith also did not answer the question who had sent him 96 messages during the test.

The team had shown them the content of the messages on his seized phone. The PSC vigilance also found similarities in the mistakes in both papers of Shivaranjith and Pranav.

The vigilance found Shivaranjith received 96 messages on his phone from two numbers and 78 on Pranav’s phone from three numbers during the exam hours between 2 pm and 3.15 pm.

As per information of the police, an employee of the college leaked the question papers as per the plans of Shivaranjith and Nazeem.

These question papers had reached the hands of V. M. Gokul, a cop of SAP camp and Safeer, a contract employee of VSSC.

The two are friends of Pranav, the second rank holder who is also an SFI activist. Their phones were under the location of Palayam tower. The assumption is that the two sent the answers from the verandah of the Government Sanskrit College. Both Safeer and Gokul are absconding.