KAYAMKULAM: Former SFI leader Nikhil Thomas, who was absconding after accused in the fake BCom certificate case, has been taken into police custody. He was caught from a KSRTC bus in Kottayam around midnight. Crucial information about his whereabouts was obtained by interrogating Nikhil's close friends and relatives. Nikhil was hiding in different places in Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam districts.

The police have also initiated steps to bring the former SFI leader, who is believed to have forged a certificate for Nikhil, from Maldives. He is a friend of Nikhil and earlier ran an education consultancy firm in Kayamkulam. When Nikhil presented his Kalinga University certificate, the police had found that Rs 2 lakh rupees had been transferred from Nikhil's account to his. Apart from Nikhil, he is suspected to have issued fake certificates to some others.

The police team that went to Kalinga University to investigate will return today. The police have received a written reply from the university that the degree certificate is fake. MSM college admission documents were also taken into custody. Based on this, the teachers including the head of the department will be questioned in the coming days. A team led by Kayamkulam DySP Ajay Nath is leading the investigation.