A probe that began with an unrelated 2019 campus incident found that activists from a Thiruvananthapuram college had topped the civil police officer exam through exam-hall fraud using smartwatches and earphones, aided by a serving civil police officer who relayed messages during the test. The Crime Branch charge-sheeted six people in April 2023 under forgery, breach-of-trust, conspiracy and cyber-law provisions; the rank-list placements were removed.