IAS officer at centre of Karnataka veterinary case arrested following disappearance row

The Karnataka Police Saturday arrested IAS officer Gyanendra Kumar Gangwar in connection with an alleged fraud in the selection of veterinarians for 400 vacancies in the state animal husbandry and fisheries department. Gangwar, a Karnataka-cadre IAS officer, is currently posted as a director for the Department of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in the state Commerce and Industries ministry.

His arrest comes in the wake of two days of questioning by the CID police regarding his tenure as controller of examinations at the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) from 2024 to March 2026. Gangwar is an IAS officer from the 2016 batch, originally from Uttar Pradesh.

He previously held several significant positions, including assistant secretary in the Heavy Industries Department at the central government. Additionally, he served as the CEO of Bidar and as the additional director of vigilance in the Central Food Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department.

Moreover, he served as joint director at the Administrative Training Institute in Mysuru and at the Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Sewerage Board. Gangwar was at the centre of a controversy last week after he suddenly disappeared amid ED searches linked to the KPSC scam in the recruitment of veterinarians.

The Opposition BJP in Karnataka accused the ruling Congress of shielding the IAS officer from the ED, and the IAS officer had submitted himself to the CID investigations two days ago. The CID is investigating the alleged scam following multiple complaints that the entrance exam conducted in January this year was rigged.

The competitive exam was held on January 8. Final selection lists were published on July 17. The CID sent the 329 OMR sheets of candidates who finally wrote the veterinary entrance exam, along with copies of the OMR sheets, to the state FSL to authenticate allegations of foul play made by a failed candidate against 29 successful candidates.

Opposition Janata Dal (Secular) leader H D Kumaraswamy attempted to drag Home Minister Priyank Kharge into the KPSC scam, alleging irregularities in the recruitment of 24 assistant executive engineers in the Rural Development department as well, under the watch of Gangwar and the Congress leader in 2024-26.

Kumaraswamy, who is a minister in the NDA coalition led by the BJP, has also claimed that Kharge shielded the IAS officer during ED searches last week. “Priyank Kharge initially claimed that the officer had gone to his native place in Lucknow after obtaining government permission because his father was unwell.

He also said the officer had personally called him, informed him of his father’s condition, and told him he would return to Bengaluru within two days. He further claimed the officer informed his superiors,” Kumaraswamy said on August 28.

Kharge responded, saying that the government had taken the IAS officer's leave request on personal grounds at face value and had not investigated the same. Over the last two days, the CID unit of the Karnataka Police has also questioned the suspended Karnataka Public Service Commission chairman, Shivashankarappa Sahukar, as part of its investigation into alleged fraud in the recruitment process.

The notice for appearance before the CID on August 27 was issued even as Karnataka Governor Thawarchand Gehlot ordered the suspension of the KPSC chairman for the second time regarding a scam in the recruitment of his daughter in the state industries department.