Planning Board recruitment scam: Former PSC Deputy Secretary P Satheesh arrested

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: P Satheesh, the official in charge of the examination wing during the PSC-Planning Board recruitment fraud, was arrested on Wednesday. P Satheesh is a former Deputy Secretary of the Public Service Commission. Following criticism from the court, the Crime Branch’s special investigation team named both P Satheesh and R. Hari—the Additional Secretary of the examination wing—as accused in the case. Satheesh was arrested subsequently.

Following his inclusion as an accused in the case, the PSC decided to withhold the pension and other service benefits of P. Satheesh, who retired from service months earlier. Hari was suspended from service. Both officials were responsible for the evaluation process within the examination wing.

The crime branch found that ten questions out of 58 marks were deliberately left unmarked in the examination evaluation. The investigation revealed that the officials colluded to accord first rank to a particular candidate. A case was registered against the officials under the Prevention of Corruption Act.