KPSC scam: Enforcement Directorate names ex-chief, IAS officer in 585-page chargesheet

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a prosecution complaint (chargesheet) against four people, including suspended Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) chairman Shivashankarappa Sahukar, following more than three months of investigation into the laundering of bribes allegedly paid to secure recruitment as veterinary doctors.

Apart from Sahukar, 62, the chargesheet names KPSC member B V Geetha, 46, former KPSC Controller of Examinations Gyanendra Kumar Gangwar, 41, an IAS officer, and alleged middleman Basavaraj Kannale, 36. According to the ED, the accused were involved in leaking question papers and answer keys to around 19 candidates who allegedly paid between Rs 20 lakh and Rs 40 lakh for recruitment to veterinary doctor posts.

Sources said the prosecution complaint filed on Friday runs into 585 pages, while the supporting documents exceed 8,000 pages. It was filed ahead of the November 17 deadline, which marks 60 days since the first arrest in the case.

Gangwar was the first person arrested by the ED on September 17. The ED has alleged that he leaked answer keys for the KPSC veterinary doctors recruitment examination conducted in Bengaluru on January 8 and 9 to Sahukar and Geetha.

He is also accused of separately supplying question papers and answers to 11 aspirants allegedly brought into the scheme by Kannale. The bail pleas of Gangwar and Kannale were rejected on October 18 and November 11, respectively.

Sahukar’s bail plea was rejected by a special ED court on November 11, while Geetha secured bail on grounds that she is a woman. The ED has alleged that they laundered proceeds generated from bribes received from at least nine candidates in exchange for leaked answer keys.

With the filing of the prosecution complaint, however, all accused currently in judicial custody can seek bail afresh. The ED would require sanctions from the President of India, the Karnataka governor and the central government to prosecute Sahukar, Geetha, and Gangwar, respectively.

The ED probe has allegedly revealed that 19 candidates who obtained the answer keys and questions ahead of the entrance exam obtained the top 19 ranks in the entrance exam. According to the agency, a candidate who allegedly paid an advance of Rs 20 lakh to Geetha received the first rank, while another who allegedly paid Rs 10 lakh to Sahukar secured the third rank.

The ED has alleged that Sahukar and Geetha took bribes from nine aspirants, including those who got the first, third, eighth, ninth, 11th and 12th positions in the entrance exam. The ED’s prosecution complaint comes even as a Special Investigation Team of the state police constituted by the Karnataka High Court has taken over the criminal investigations of the KPSC veterinary doctors recruitment fraud.

It is examining the roles of Sahukar and Geetha, aspects that were not probed by the previous CID investigation. In January, 1,400 aspirants wrote the entrance exam for 400 veterinary doctor posts. Of these, 328 candidates were selected.