A top Kerala Police official was on Monday caught cheating during llM examination. Inspector General of Police (Thrissur Range) TJ Jose was sent away from the examination hall after he was caught copying from a guide book during the exam of the Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam at a college at Kalamassery near Kochi.
Authorities of the St Paul’s College, where the incident took place, submitted a report to the Controller of Exami-nations of the university on the matter on Monday afternoon itself. The university has asked its Deputy Registrar to enquire into the matter and file a preliminary report at the earliest.
Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala ordered a high-level departmental enquiry into the
incident, and ordered the IGP to go on compulsory leave. Additional DGP (North Zone) N Shanker Reddy is in charge of the enquiry. Sources in the police headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram said that the department viewed the matter seriously, as the incident had brought shame to the entire police force.
The IGP denied the incident. “I have indeed been appearing for the llM examination. I wrote the exam today and will appear tomorrow also. All other reports are baseless. I was not sent away from the examination hall and no illegal paper was seized from me,” the Inspector General said.
But VJ Peter, vice-principal of St Paul’s College, and the invigilator who caught Jose while copying confirmed that the candidate was indeed the IGP (Thrissur) though they did not know about his identity at the time of the incident. The university’s Controller of Examinations said Jose would not be able to appear for Tuesday’s examination.
Jose reportedly left the hall leaving the answer sheets and question paper there, but he refused to hand over the illegal papers despite the insistence of the invigilator and the vice-principal.
The college vice-principal sent a detailed report on the exam fraud committed by IGP Jose in the form of an e-mail to the MG University on the basis of the statements of the invigilator. University Vice-Chancellor Babu Sebastian said that they had received a report from St Paul’s College. “Action will depend on the inquiry report,” the VC said.
Jose will not be able to appear for examinations for three years if he got debarred by the university.