Pramesh S Jain
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested suspended Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) chairman,Shivashankarappa Sahukar and KPSC member,B.V.Geetha in connection with alleged manipulation of the recruitment examination for 400 Veterinary Officer posts,including the leakage of candidate-specific answer keys and exploitation of confidential merit-list data to collect bribes.
The arrests were made on October 6 after the ED conducted searches at their premises under Section 17 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
They were produced before the Special Court for PMLA cases (CCH-4) on October 7,which granted the ED 14 days’custody of both accused.
According to the ED,its investigation has uncovered an organised mechanism through which KPSC officials and members allegedly generated proceeds of crime by manipulating recruitment examinations.
The alleged modus operandi included leakage of question papers,leakage of candidate-specific answer keys and misuse of the confidential 1:3 merit list to demand money from candidates.
The ED said certain candidates were allegedly provided the correct answer keys a day before the Veterinary Officers’examination, on January 8,2026,in return for bribes ranging from ₹20 lakh to ₹40 lakh.
Investigators allege that Geetha obtained the leaked answer keys from Gyanendra Kumar Gangwar,IAS,then Controller of Examinations (CoE),who was responsible for confidential examination material.
Gangwar allegedly accessed the jumbled question papers and answer keys and provided Geetha with the correct answers for the first 80 questions.
The ED alleged that Geetha collected ₹20 lakh in cash as an advance from one candidate against an agreed bribe of ₹40 lakh,while Sahukar allegedly collected ₹10 lakh as an advance against an agreed ₹20 lakh bribe from another candidate.
So far,six candidates who secured high scores in the final selection list have been identified,with the ED saying further investigation is underway to identify all beneficiaries.
10 candidates taken to resort before exam:
The ED had earlier seized blank signed cheques worth ₹80 lakh and blank signed promissory notes from one successful candidate.
Investigators also found that 10 successful candidates were allegedly taken to a resort/Airbnb villa on the outskirts of Bengaluru a day before the examination, where they were given a question paper containing the correct answer options for 80 questions and allegedly made to memorise them.
The ED alleged that the marked question paper was leaked by Gangwar through his close associate Basavaraj Kannale.
Kannale allegedly collected ₹40 lakh to ₹50 lakh from each candidate in return for facilitating their final selection.
Gangwar and Kannale were arrested by the ED on September 18 and September 17,respectively, and were earlier remanded to ED custody for 14 days.Gangwar was subsequently sent to judicial custody.
Confidential 1:3 merit list allegedly exploited
The investigation has also revealed an alleged second method of extracting money from candidates.
The ED said KPSC normally does not disclose individual marks when publishing the 1:3 eligibility list.
However, certain KPSC members and officials allegedly accessed confidential merit positions from the CoE’s office and assessed which candidates were likely to make the final selection.
The accused allegedly used this confidential information to approach candidates and assure them of selection in exchange for bribes ranging from ₹10 lakh to ₹50 lakh, depending on the post.
The ED said the misuse of confidential merit information was part of the mechanism for generating and handling proceeds of crime.
