Chennai: A trainee IPS officer was caught indulging in malpractice during the Civil Service mains examination held in the City on Monday. Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Safeer Karim was caught communicating through a Bluetooth headset at the exam hall in Presidency Girls higher secondary school in Egmore. He was supposedly receiving inputs from his wife based in Hydeyrabad, reminiscent of a scene from a popular Tamil film by actor Kamal Hassan, Vasool Raja MBBS.
A native of Ernakulam in Kerala, Safeer had cleared the Civil services examination in 2015 with an All India Rank of 112 and was allotted the Tamil Nadu cadre. The Civil services exam is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to select IAS, IFS and IPS officers among other services. The exams which began on Saturday end on November 3.
Safeer was, until Monday serving as a station in charge and was undergoing training in Nanguneri sub division in Tirunelveli district. Preliminary investigations revealed that Safeer attended the exams to upgrade his All India Rank to get posted as an IAS officer. “He has told a few of his friends that he felt he couldn’t bear the physical strain of the police services”, a police officer disclosed.
Police sources said that he was under the watch of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) sleuths since the main examination began on Saturday after reports about the possibility of him indulging in malpractice. On Monday, the second day of the examination, he was caught while communicating with a Bluetooth device.
He had diverted the attention of the policemen on duty by handing over one mobile phone near the entrance while managing to get inside with another phone and advanced gadgets. Police sources said that he managed to scan the question paper and send it to his wife who was aiding him. City police have booked the IPS trainee under various sections including 420 IPC (cheating) and arrested him. Further investigations are on. His wife, Joicy Joy is also likely to be arrested, police said. Senior police officers expressed the opinion that the trainee officer is likely to be dismissed from service.
