Pramesh S Jain
A day after IAS officer and MSME Director Gyanendra Kumar Gangwar returned from his native Uttar Pradesh after being out of contact for nearly two days, Enforcement Directorate (ED)officials on Sunday reportedly arrived at his residential premises in Bengaluru in connection with the ongoing probe into alleged irregularities in KPSC recruitment.
Gangwar had served as the Controller of Examinations at the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) when the veterinary officer recruitment examination was conducted.
The recruitment process has come under the ED scanner following allegations of large-scale irregularities and claims that candidates were allegedly asked to pay huge sums of money.
The ED had earlier conducted searches at several locations in connection with the case,including the residence of former KPSC chairman Shivashankarappa Sahukar and premises linked to veterinary officers.
Officials are also investigating allegations that candidates were asked to pay between Rs.70 lakh and Rs.80 lakh for securing appointments.
On Sunday,an ED team reportedly reached Gangwar’s apartment in Bengaluru in three vehicles, accompanied by CRPF personnel.
Security personnel initially locked the apartment gate and told the officials that they had no instructions to allow anyone inside.
The officials reportedly spent nearly two hours at the premises while attempting to gain access to the apartment.
According to reports,they contacted Gangwar,following which security personnel allowed them into the apartment complex.
However,the officials reportedly found the residence locked and Gangwar was not present.His phone was said to be switched off.
The ED team subsequently called a key maker from Vyalikaval to the premises to prepare a duplicate key to open the apartment.Reports said officials arranged for a neighbour to be present as a witness while the door was opened.
The searches are part of the ED’s investigation into alleged malpractice in the KPSC veterinary officer recruitment examination.Gangwar was the examination controller at the time of the recruitment process.
The developments come shortly after Gangwar’s brief absence from Bengaluru sparked speculation amid the ED investigation.
Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge had said that the IAS officer had travelled to Uttar Pradesh to meet his ailing father and that his absence was linked to a family emergency.
While Gangwar’s role as examination controller has brought him under the ED’s scrutiny,there is no confirmed information establishing that he himself has been accused of accepting bribes or participating in the alleged recruitment scam.The allegations remain part of the ongoing investigation.
The ED’s searches are expected to shed further light on the alleged irregularities in the recruitment process and the role, if any,of officials involved in conducting the examination.
