Kozhikode: The Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC) had recommended to the government to extend the validity of rank lists for uniformed services to two years from 1 year, according to Right to Information (RTI) documents.
If the government had accepted the recommendations, jobs would have been assured for hundreds of youths, including 28-year-old S Anu, of Karakonam, who killed himself as he was allegedly disappointed over the cancellation of the PSC rank list.
Earlier, the validity of rank lists of civil police officer and civil excise officer was three years. This was later made one year.
The PSC had pointed out that it was difficult to conduct all the appointments for uniformed services within one year and sought to extend the validity to two years. However, the government did not accept this.
Candidates had also earlier pointed out the futility of a one-year validity for a rank list that took three years to be prepared.
Currently, the excise department has 2,716 excise officers. The number of vacancies created due to retirements every year and the subsequent appointments is less. Only 444 people got the appointment from the rank list of 3,205 candidates. The PSC also shelled Rs 1.25 crore for this. The candidates are made to toil hard through written and sports tests for the limited number of appointments.
If the rank list was extended to two years, candidates such as Anu who had secured good ranks would have got the jobs. The first 72 candidates from the rank list for the Thiruvananthapuram district were recommended for the appointment as civil excise officers. Anu was ranked 77th on the list.
Chennithala seeks rank list extension
Meanwhile, opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala said that the validity of the PSC rank lists should be extended by six months.
"There should not be any more suicide over the cancellation of rank lists. The needless unyielding stance of the government had led to all this problem. If the seniority row at the excise department had been resolved, more vacancies would have been reported. Then several candidates, including Anu, would have secured the employment," Chennithala said.
The senior Congress leader made the remarks after inaugurating a fast observed by KPCC president Mullappally Ramachandran over the incident.
Mullappally also asked the government to offer a job for Anu's brother.
"Case should be filed against the Chief Minister and PSC chairman for abetment of suicide," Mullappally said.
Working president Kodikunnil Suresh MP, Rajmohan Unnithan MP, vice-president Sooranad Rajasekharan, Sharath Chandra Prasad, Manvila Radhakrishnan, general secretaries Thampanoor Ravi, Palode Ravi, Manakkad Suresh, Pazhakulam Madhu, M M Nasir, MLAs V S Shivakumar and M Vincent, DCC president Neyyattinkara Sanal, and Pandalam Sudhakaran, among others, spoke at the event.
