Bengaluru, October 1: The Enforcement Directorate has alleged that Gyanendra Kumar Gangwar, a 2016-batch IAS officer and then Controller of Examinations of the Karnataka Public Service Commission, misused his official position and facilitated the leak of the Veterinary Officers’ recruitment question paper, along with the correct answers, to a middleman a day before the examination in return for illegal gratification.
In a press release issued by its Bengaluru Zonal Office on September 30, the agency said the paper was passed to Basavaraj Kannale, who then arranged for selected candidates to memorise the answers at a resort on the outskirts of Bengaluru and transported them to examination centres the next day. The examination, held on January 8 and 9 this year to fill 400 veterinary officer posts, was taken by about 1,400 candidates. Of these, 329 were selected — 273 in the main category and 56 in the backlog category. The final selection list has since been withheld.
Demand of Rs 80 lakh, settled at Rs 30–40 lakh
According to the ED, Kannale, acting with associates, identified and approached candidates and assured them of selection. An amount of about Rs 80 lakh was initially demanded from each candidate and was later negotiated to between Rs 30 lakh and Rs 40 lakh. Part of the money was collected in advance in cash and through banking channels. To secure the balance, some candidates were made to give blank signed cheques and promissory notes, several of which were recovered during searches. The agency said the bank account of Om Lakshmi Souharda Sahakari Sangha Niyamitha, Bidar, was used to receive part of the illegal gratification.
The ED stated that Gangwar, who was responsible for finalising and supervising the printing of question papers and for the custody of confidential examination material, handed the paper with answers to Kannale one day before the examination. Proceeds were later layered through bank transfers, purchase of gold jewellery, cash payments for air travel and other cash transactions, the agency said. Searches were conducted between August 18 and August 24.
Arrests and custody
The probe rests on FIRs registered at Vidhana Soudha Police Station, Bengaluru, for offences under Sections 318(3), 318(4), 336(2), 336(3) and 340(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. The Karnataka CID arrested Gangwar on August 29. Kannale was arrested the following day at Delhi airport before he could leave for Uzbekistan via Almaty. The ED formally arrested Kannale on September 17 and Gangwar on September 18, while both were in judicial custody, for their alleged role in generating proceeds of crime. A special court for PMLA cases (CCH-4) granted the agency 14 days’ custody of each. Further investigation is in progress.
CID findings on money trail and rank holders
Separately, the CID has told court that 11 aspirants paid a total of about Rs 1.52 crore for advance access to the paper. The Indian Express reported that three candidates who secured the top ranks in the backlog category and six who finished in the top 15 of the main category were among those who paid. The lowest-ranked candidate linked to the alleged scam stood at 84 in the main list. The CID has also placed before court a claim that about Rs 52 lakh from the collections was used to buy gold and diamond jewellery. In court, the ED has said Kannale claimed he paid Rs 1.3 crore in cash to Gangwar, apart from jewellery purchases. Earlier CID accounts also referred to candidates being lodged at Orchid Resort in Devanahalli and, in a later account, at four rented villas on the outskirts of the city.
A statistical probability test conducted by the CID on the two papers held on January 9 — general proficiency and veterinary science, both multiple-choice — found a 99.9 per cent match in the correct and wrong answers of 14 top rank-holders, and put at 99 per cent the likelihood that they had received the paper before the examination, The Indian Express reported. The second, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, ninth and tenth rank-holders in the main category, and the top three in the backlog category, showed a 100 per cent match. The first, third, eighth and twelfth in the main category showed a 99 per cent probability of cheating. Ten of the 14 have turned approvers after allegedly admitting they paid for the questions, according to the report. The candidates have not all confessed; investigators say other evidence supports the analysis.
The case came to light after an unsuccessful candidate, Dr S. Manjunath, lodged a complaint on July 24 alleging that 29 candidates with weak academic records had scored above 450 out of 600. Suspended KPSC chairman Sahukar S. Shivashankarappa has also figured in the CID’s communication records from the examination days. The allegations remain under investigation and have not been adjudicated.
