Kerala - Kochi   

SI test not to be cancelled: PSC chief

KOCHI: The Kerala State Public Service Commission (PSC) has denied the allegation that it is not cooperating with the police in investigating the fraud in the written test for the sub-inspector (SI) of police recruitment.

K.V. Salahuddin, chairman, said on Monday that the PSC was a constitutional body and there were specified formalities for dealing with it. The police had not made an application seeking information and evidence from the PSC headquarters. It was only on Monday that they had sought information from the Kollam office of the PSC and the request had been passed on to the PSC headquarters.

He said the PSC had never refused to hand over the two mobile phones seized by its invigilators from those taking the test. The police had not asked for it. He asserted that the PSC was for an in-depth police investigation into the fraud and was wholeheartedly willing to help the police.

Mr. Salahuddin suspected that there was a section of vested interests keen on getting the ‘SI selection test' cancelled. He ruled out the possibility of its cancellation as there was no legitimate reason for it. The question papers had not leaked before the test and no mass fraudulent practices were reported or proved. If the test were to be cancelled, it would affect nearly a lakh applicants who had taken the test spending time, money and effort. They should not be punished for the attempt by a couple of people to cheat, he said.

Mr. Salahuddin said it was the PSC invigilators who had caught the two persons cheating in the test using mobile phones. Their phones were seized and the issue was immediately investigated by the vigilance and security officer of the PSC. He said the PSC had received complaints that some people had sought money from those who had taken the test offering to get the test cancelled. This was being investigated. “It is such people who plant false stories in the media about the PSC; they stand to benefit in the event of cancelling the test,” he said.

Mr. Salahuddin wondered about the effectiveness of the ‘mobile cheating.' He said for the SI test, there were 100 questions that had to be answered within 75 minutes. “Think about the time taken for calling up the outside help and getting the correct answers, the psychological stress of committing a criminal act and evading the invigilator's eye,” he said. “Even if a test-taker is able to get help, he will not be able to answer the necessary number of questions to get the cut-off marks under these circumstances.”

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Bail pleas dismissed
Gospel band to be launched
Film on hazardous dams released
Meet on mathematical sciences
Latin American band to perform at music festival
Women's empowerment vital: Collector
Power supply to be disrupted
Consortium of banks to finance mobility hub
Fake currency seized, 6 persons held
SI test not to be cancelled: PSC chief
Jurist speaks of former judge's request
Krishna Iyer backs plea for new dam
Managements told to submit audited figures
Appoint Media Commission: Press Council chairman
In Kochi Today

Copyright © 2011, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu