Abin C Raj, who is accused of providing a fake degree certificate to former SFI area secretary Nikhil Thomas at MSM College, was taken into custody by police on Monday (June 26) from Cochin International Airport.

Kochi: Abin C Raj, who is accused of providing a fake B.Com degree certificate to former SFI area secretary Nikhil Thomas, was taken into custody by police on Monday (June 26) from Cochin International Airport. Abin, who is also a former SFI leader, is the second accused in the Kayamkulam certificate forgery case at MSM College. Nikhil Thomas who was detained from Kottayam KSRTC Bus depot had told the police that he received assistance from Abin C Raj, a former SFI area president of Kayamkulam to create a fake certificate. He also in his statement told the police that Abin is currently in Maldives. 

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Also read: MSM College fake certificate: Absconding accused Nikhil Thomas held in Kottayam; Read details

Nikhil paid Abin Rs 2 lakh for a forged certificate from Kalinga University. Abin accepted the funds via his mother's bank account. A company in Ernakulam by the name of Orion issued the certificate. With this, the police have nabbed the two accused in the certificate forgery case now. 

Currently, Abin is employed in the Maldives as a teacher. Since Nikhil revealed Abin's involvement in the fraud, the authorities have been attempting to take him into custody. The Kayamkulam police station received Abin for further questioning.

Nikhil Thomas was dismissed by CPM on Thursday. Earlier, SFI, the student organisation at CPM, had also expelled him. SFI made a point of denouncing Thomas' pursuit and explaining why it had earlier supported him. 

According to allegations, Nikhil applied for admission to the MCom programme at MSM College, Kayamkulam, using a fake degree certificate from Kalinga University. The registrar of Kerala University formally reported the incident to the police and asked for a thorough investigation. The cops then filed a case against him.