ED grills IAS officer, alleged middleman in KPSC case

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on Friday (September 11, 2026) grilled suspended IAS officer Gyanendra Kumar Gangwar and alleged middleman Basavaraj Kannale in the alleged scam in the recruitment of veterinary officers by the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC).

The duo, arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), are in judicial custody and are lodged at the Parappana Agrahara Central Prison. The 51st City Civil and Sessions Court that deals with ED cases, permitted ED officials to question them in the prison on Thursday.

A team of ED officials arrived at the prison on Friday morning and grilled the duo till 5 p.m., sources said. Following an FIR registered by the Vidhana Soudha police in the case, the ED raided the KPSC and the premises linked to the IAS officer, who was KPSC’s Controller of Examinations during the recruitment exams on August 18.

Following this, the CID, which is probing the case, arrested Mr. Gangwar on August 30 and the alleged middleman Basavaraj Kannale a day later. Meanwhile, the 51st City Civil and Sessions Court on Thursday rejected an anticipatory bail application by KPSC member Shantha Hosamani in the case.

The member, appointed in 2021, has been named as a suspect in the FIR registered on August 7 over alleged corruption in the gazetted probationers’ recruitment, for which the results are still awaited. The FIR is now being probed by the CID.

The ED had also named her as a suspect in their case over the alleged KPSC scam. Ms. Hosamani is said to be absconding since these cases were registered against her, and the ED has issued a lookout notice. With her anticipatory bail rejected, the CID and ED are learnt to have stepped up their efforts to track her down.