Chennai: After allegations that close to hundred candidates committed malpractices while writing the Tamilnadu Public Service Commission’s (TNPSC) Group IV examination held last year, the Crime Branch CID (CB-CID) has launched an investigation.
The CB-CID summoned Keezhakkarai and Rameshwaram Tahsildars for an inquiry today. The TNPSC has banned 99 candidates for life from the Group IV exam after it found they had manipulated the answers by using a special ink.
The Commission said these 99 candidates from across the State had written the exam at Rameswaram and Keelakarai centres as per the instructions from brokers, according to reports.
”A preliminary inquiry found that answer sheets of 52 candidates, out of 99, were manipulated by scamsters who shaded correct responses after the exam. Thirty nine of them came with in the top 100 ranks in the Group IV exam,” the TNPSC said.
”They shaded answers using a special ink, which disappears after a few hours, so that they could then shade the right answers”, according to TNPSC sources.
Soon after, the Commission has replaced the 39 disqualified candidates on the merit list with new candidates. While they were questioned by officers during an inquiry, the candidates gave the same pattern of reply.
They did not have justifiable answers as to why they chose a particular center to appear for the exam, sources said.
The CB-CID registered a case after J K Tripathy refferred a formal complaint lodged by the TNPSC to probe the matter. It may be noted that the exam was conducted to fill up 6,491 vacancies in State government.
On 1 September, more than 13 lakh candidates appeared for the Group IV exam and the results were announced on 12 November last year in a record 72 days.
Following allegations, the TNPSC conducted an inquiry with more than 50 toppers who wrote the exam at these two centres, reports said.
The exam was conducted to fill vacancies of Village Administration Officer (VAO), Assistant Village Officer, Junior Assistant and Typist among other posts.
Nearly, 16,29,865 candidates including 7.18 lakh women, 16,601 differently-abled persons, 4973 destitute widows appeared at 5,575 centres. The role of staff who were in-charge of the centres are also being examined.
An FIR has been registered against 99 candidates and brokers.