A local court in Mavelikara on Saturday remanded Students’ Federation of India (SFI) former leader Nikhil Thomas, who is accused of forging his degree certificate to gain admission to the MCom programme at MSM College, Kayamkulam, in judicial custody for 14 days. Nikhil, arrested by the police on June 24, was produced before the court at the end of his police custody. The court remanded two other accused in the case — Abin C. Raj and Saju S. Sasidharan — in police custody for five days.
Nikhil reportedly told the investigators that he had arranged the certificate from a Palarivattom-based agency with the help of Abin, a former SFI leader, to whom he paid ₹2 lakh in 2020. Saju, the agency owner, is accused of fabricating the BCom degree certificate in the name of Kalinga University, Raipur, using which Nikhil secured admission for MCom at the college in the 2021-23 batch. He is also suspected of having fabricated the mark list, transfer certificate, migration certificate, and provisional certificate.
