ED Accuses IAS Officer Gyanendra Kumar Gangwar of KPSC Veterinary Exam Paper Leak for Rs 30–40 Lakh per Candidate

Bengaluru, October 1: The Enforcement Directorate has alleged that Gyanendra Kumar Gangwar, a 2016-batch IAS officer and then Controller of Examinations of the Karnataka Public Service Commission, abused his position to help leak the Veterinary Officers’ recruitment question paper and its correct answers to a middleman a day before the examination, in exchange for illegal gratification.

In a press release from its Bengaluru Zonal Office on September 30, the agency said the paper was passed to Basavaraj Kannale, who allegedly arranged for selected candidates to memorise the answers at a resort on the outskirts of Bengaluru and then took them to examination centres the following day. The recruitment test, held on January 8 and 9 this year for 400 veterinary officer posts, was written by about 1,400 candidates. Of these, 329 were selected — 273 in the main category and 56 in the backlog category — but the final selection list has since been withheld.

Alleged payment trail and recruitment manipulation

According to the ED, Kannale and his associates identified and approached candidates and assured them of selection. The agency said the amount initially demanded from each candidate was around Rs 80 lakh, but this was later negotiated down to between Rs 30 lakh and Rs 40 lakh. Part of the money was allegedly collected in advance through cash and banking channels. To secure the remaining amount, some candidates were made to issue blank signed cheques and promissory notes, several of which were recovered during searches. The ED also said that the bank account of Om Lakshmi Souharda Sahakari Sangha Niyamitha, Bidar, was used to receive part of the illegal gratification.

The agency further alleged that Gangwar, who was responsible for finalising and supervising the printing of question papers as well as the custody of confidential examination material, handed over the paper with the answers to Kannale one day before the examination. The proceeds of the alleged scam were then layered through bank transfers, gold jewellery purchases, cash payments for air travel and other cash transactions, the ED said. Searches in the case were carried out between August 18 and August 24.

Arrests and custody

The probe is based on FIRs registered at Vidhana Soudha Police Station, Bengaluru, for offences under Sections 318(3), 318(4), 336(2), 336(3) and 340(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. The Karnataka CID arrested Gangwar on August 29. Kannale was arrested the next day at Delhi airport before he could leave for Uzbekistan via Almaty. The ED formally arrested Kannale on September 17 and Gangwar on September 18, while both were in judicial custody, for their alleged role in generating proceeds of crime. A special court for PMLA cases (CCH-4) granted the agency 14 days’ custody of each. The investigation is continuing.

CID’s findings on candidates and money trail

Separately, the CID has told the court that 11 aspirants paid a total of about Rs 1.52 crore for advance access to the paper. The Indian Express reported that among them were three candidates who secured the top ranks in the backlog category and six who finished in the top 15 in the main category. The lowest-ranked candidate linked to the alleged scam was placed 84th in the main list. The CID has also placed before the court a claim that about Rs 52 lakh from the collections was used to buy gold and diamond jewellery. In court, the ED has said Kannale claimed he paid Rs 1.3 crore in cash to Gangwar, apart from jewellery purchases. Earlier CID accounts also referred to candidates being lodged at Orchid Resort in Devanahalli and, in a later version, at four rented villas on the outskirts of Bengaluru.

A statistical probability test conducted by the CID on the two papers held on January 9 — general proficiency and veterinary science, both multiple-choice — found a 99.9 per cent match in the correct and wrong answers of 14 top rank-holders, and put the likelihood at 99 per cent that they had received the paper before the exam, The Indian Express reported. The second, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, ninth and tenth rank-holders in the main category, and the top three in the backlog category, showed a 100 per cent match. The first, third, eighth and twelfth in the main category showed a 99 per cent probability of cheating. Ten of the 14 have turned approvers after allegedly admitting they paid for the questions, according to the report. Investigators, however, say other evidence also supports the analysis.

The case came to light after an unsuccessful candidate, Dr S. Manjunath, filed a complaint on July 24 alleging that 29 candidates with weak academic records had scored above 450 out of 600. Suspended KPSC chairman Sahukar S. Shivashankarappa has also figured in the CID’s communication records from the examination days. The allegations remain under investigation and have not been adjudicated.