Fake certificate row: Amid flak, SFI ousts Nikhil Thomas; Police register case

Thiruvananthapuram: Amid criticism in various quarters, including from netizens, SFI, the student organisation of CPM, on Tuesday ousted its member Nikhil Thomas, who is accused of producing a fake degree certificate to get MCom admission at Milad-E-Sherif Memorial (MSM) College in Kayamkulam.

According to the media release issued by SFI, the person's primary membership in the party has been revoked. Nikhil mislead the organisation over the matter and fetched a fake certificate with the help of a racket, the release noted. He did something that an SFI worker should never do, it said. 

SFI condemned Thomas’ pursuit and elaborated on the reason why it initially stood by him. The organisation’s course correction comes as media reports suggest Thomas was not a student of Kalinga University. 

Meanwhile, rivals see SFI’s course correction as damage control. SFI has been in a bad light over a recent impersonation case, mark list controversy, and another documentary forgery case in which the accused are organisation-linked individuals.

Earlier, MSM College had suspended Thomas for possessing a fraudulent graduation certificate. For PG admission at the college, Thomas submitted a degree certificate from Kalinga University in Chhattisgarh, which reportedly was fake.

On the other hand, Kayamkulam Police has registered a cheating-forgery case over the matter. The police investigation will be led by Kayamkulam DYSP. Police are suspecting the involvement of more individuals in the case as well. They have recorded statements from the college principal. A two-member team of Kerala Police will visit Kalinga University, in order to verify the authenticity of the certificate submitted by Thomas.