Thaindian News

Thiruvananthapuram, May 28 (IANS) The Oommen Chandy-led Congress government in Kerala has ordered an inquiry into alleged scam in the 2008 appointments of 160 candidates who appeared in a test for the post of assistants in Kerala University, an official said Saturday.

The probe would involve tracing the nearly 40,000 “missing” answer sheets of the test conducted in 2006.

Speaking to IANS, officials in Chandy’s office confirmed that orders have been given for a crime branch probe into the case.

“Now it is for the crime branch officials to appoint a team to do the probe as asked by the chief minister,” said an official.

The test was conducted during the Congress-led government’s tenure in 2006 but the list of successful candidates was prepared in 2008 when the previous Left Democratic Front (LDF) government led by V.S. Achuthanandan was in power.

This issue came to light in 2008 after complaints surfaced that of the 160 appointments of assistants, 60 were close relatives and friends of leaders in the LDF.

The lapses were unearthed by Kerala University senate member and Congress student leader Sujith S. Kurup. He filed a complaint before the deputy ombudsman, alleging corruption in appointments.

The then university vice-chancellor M.K. Ramachandran Nair and the then registrar K.A. Ashim were named as the first and the second accused in the complaint filed by Kurup.

The Congress, then in the opposition, created a furore in the assembly but the government under Achuthanandan did nothing to probe the alleged lapses or punish those responsible.

A two-member university team was sent to a high security press in Uttar Pradesh in 2008 to trace the answer sheets after evaluation, but it returned empty handed.