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.
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. 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. 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.
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.
Allegations of Exam Misconduct Surface
Concerns have emerged regarding the conduct of candidates in a recent examination. Allegations suggest that some shortlisted candidates turned off their mobile phones on or before exam days and stayed at hotels outside Karnataka. Reports indicate that intermediaries may have provided these candidates with exam questions during this time.
Manjunath, a key figure in the unfolding situation, has raised doubts about the legitimacy of the OMR answer sheets. He claims that some candidates, despite leaving several questions unanswered, achieved unexpectedly high scores. Furthermore, intermediaries reportedly offered to manipulate OMR sheets for sums as high as ₹ 80 lakh.
CID Investigates Allegations of Exam Irregularities
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has taken over an inquiry into alleged exam irregularities reported by veterinarian Manjunath. This shift occurred on July 28 after two cases were initially filed at the Vidhana Soudha police station.
Manjunath claims that relatives of former KPSC chairman Shivashankarappa S Sahukara, along with certain KPSC members and staff, received disproportionately high marks in the recruitment exam held on January 8 and 9. He pointed out that some candidates who had previously excelled in national-level competitive exams performed poorly in this state recruitment test, raising questions about the integrity of the evaluation process.
