The Karnataka CID has arrested Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Gyanendra Kumar Gangwar in connection with alleged irregularities in the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) examination for 400 veterinary officer posts, officials said.
The FIR alleges that Gangwar received ₹ 1.1 crore from two candidates in return for tampering with their OMR sheets. He was booked under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 10 of the Karnataka Public Examination (Measures for Prevention of Corruption & Unfair Means in Recruitment) Act. On August 23, the agency searched Gangwar’s residence in Jayamahal Extension, Bengaluru. Gangwar had also come under attention earlier this month after he remained out of contact for two days from August 20.
Gangwar, a former KPSC examination controller, was taken into custody late Saturday night after several hours of questioning in a probe into alleged question paper leakage, OMR sheet manipulation and marks tampering. Investigators found inconsistencies in his statements and felt he was not cooperating with the inquiry. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is separately examining the alleged recruitment irregularities.
Because of a family emergency, he later contacted the government and said he had gone to his hometown.
Officials said Gangwar was in Uttar Pradesh when the search took place and that officials allegedly entered the residence using a duplicate key. Home minister Priyank Kharge subsequently said that no IAS officer had gone missing. He is expected to be produced before a magistrate on Sunday, officials aware of the development said. Gangwar was questioned for about nine hours in Bengaluru on Friday before the interrogation continued on Saturday, officials said, adding that investigators are examining his role in the conduct of the examination, including the handling of question papers, evaluation and alleged manipulation of OMR answer sheets.
He alleged that candidates who had left several questions unanswered nevertheless secured high marks, while intermediaries offered to manipulate OMR sheets for up to ₹ 80 lakh. Some candidates alleged that shortlisted aspirants switched off their mobile phones before or on the examination days and stayed at hotels and resorts outside Karnataka, where intermediaries allegedly provided them with the questions. Manjunath also questioned the authenticity of OMR answer sheets.
The complaint raised further questions about the conduct of candidates before the examination.
The government transferred the case to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on July 28 after two cases were registered at the Vidhana Soudha police station. Manjunath alleged that relatives of the former chairman, KPSC members and staff obtained unusually high marks in the examination conducted on January 8 and 9 despite having average academic records. The complaint was filed by veterinarian Manjunath against suspended former KPSC chairman Shivashankarappa S Sahukara and others. He also alleged that some candidates who had cleared national-level competitive examinations performed poorly in the state recruitment test.
