Durairaj said there were several unanswered questions. “The local police could not retrieve the records from Jayaraman’s computer saying it was password-protected and needed experts from Chennai Cyber Crime Cell to access. After the CBI took over the forgery case, a fire broke out in the office and the computer was destroyed,” he said.

“We have been investigating this case. But so far, we have not got any concrete evidence to proceed with the investigation. Also, the kin of the deceased have approached the High Court demanding the transfer of the case to CBI,” said NP Sivadasan, SP (North).

University vice-chancellor J A K Tareen, a noted mineralogist, said that the university had taken prompt action against all those who were found to be guilty in the case.

“We cancelled the whole examination to ensure that no one benefited from the malpractice. Two section officers were immediately placed under suspension while those found suspicious were removed from their duties. But unfortunately we do not get much information from the police or the CBI about the two cases, making it difficult for us to take action accordingly,” he said.