KPSC Scam: IAS Officer Who Fled Ahead Of ED Raid Arrested By CID

Bengaluru: Karnataka IAS officer Gyandendra Kumar Gangwar, who absconded to escape the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) probe with respect to Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) scam in recruitment of veterinary doctors, has been arrested by the CID.

After evading the ED sleuths, the officer had appeared before the CID, which is probing into the scam and issued notices to all the accused in `cash for posting' allegation, including Gyandendra Kumar Gangwar, who appeared before the CID on Friday.

The CID, who grilled him for over 11 hours between Friday and Saturday, detained him in their office. On Sunday morning, after a medical check up, he was produced before the magistrate and was taken to custody for further interrogation.

While the middlemen played an important role in the scam, who demanded and collected ₹ 80 lakh from the successful candidates, the IAS officer, who was controller of examination during the veterinary doctors recruitment is accused of accommodating the process of editing the OMR sheets of the successful candidates. Even the candidates who could not score more than 400 marks were made toppers of the list. Most of the successful candidates allegedly paid ₹ 80 each for getting the job and the KPSC was to recruit 400 candidates during this process.

Soon after the selection process was completed and the KPSC was preparing to announce the provisional list, one of the aspirants posted a video of the middlemen negotiating with him to pay ₹ 80 lakh per posting. The KPSC Chairman Shivashankarappa Sahukar, who was already in the eye of storm in a case pertaining to misrepresenting and allowing his two daughters to produce fake income certificates and got them selected as Industrial Extension Officers, was in the dock in this case also. The Karnataka Governor had suspended him from the post of KPSC Chairman. The other candidates in the examinations filed an FIR with Vidhana Soudha police and the government handed over the investigation to the CID.

Meanwhile, ED raided 13 premises, including of Shivashankarappa Sahukar with respect to KPSC scam. They also grilled the middlemen, successful candidates and the complainants. Hours before they reached the house of Gyandendra Kumar Gangwar, who was controller of that examination, he went absconding.

Initially, Home Minister Priyank Kharge defended him saying that the officer had spoken to him and had gone to his native in UP to attend a family emergency. The ED had stuck a notice to his house to appear before them on Aug 23, but he continued to abscond. Later, Priyank Kharge said that he was not aware of the officer's whereabouts.

Meanwhile, even CID issued him a notice and Gyanendra Kumar Gangwar appeared before them on Friday afternoon.