ALAPPUZHA: The investigation into the case of former SFI leader Nikhil Thomas getting PG admission in Kayamkulam MSM College after producing a fake BCom certificate has come to a standstill. The Kayamkulam police's investigation has been hindered, albeit temporarily, due to the obstruction in finding the source of the fake degree certificate and collecting evidence related to it.

Although the police have been interrogating Saju Sasidharan, the owner of a recruiting agency in Ernakulam, who had produced the certificate for Nikhil for the past two days, it has not yet been revealed who produced the certificate.

It is reported that the equipment including the computer and printer, which he says were used to make the certificate, were handed over to the court in a case registered by the Kochi Police last year in connection with visa fraud. Saju is accused in around 15 cases related to visa fraud registered by Kochi police in 2022. The Kayamkulam police arrested him within months of his release on bail in this case in connection with the production of a fake graduation certificate.

It is also unclear whether the court has handed over the equipment to the forensic department for scientific testing in the visa case. The investigation team, which has collected the crime number and information of the visa case in Kochi, is planning to submit an application to the court to undergo forensic examination of the equipment related to the fake mark list case.

At the same time, Abin Raj and Saju Sasidharan, who are in custody, have not fully cooperated with the investigation, which has put the police on the defensive. In connection with the fake mark list, the failure to find the mobile phone used for communicate between Abin Raj and Saju has also been a setback to the investigation.