Published Oct 08, 2026 | 5:12 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 08, 2026 | 5:12 PM
The ED is probing the money trail in the case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.
Synopsis: The Enforcement Directorate has alleged that former KPSC chairman Shivashankarappa Sahukar and commission member BV Geetha leaked answer keys for the recruitment examination for 400 Veterinary Officer posts in return for illegal gratification. The agency said it has also identified six candidates who reportedly benefited from the leaked papers. The agency said KPSC officials also misused confidential 1:3 merit-list data to approach candidates and demand ₹10 lakh to ₹50 lakh in return for assurances of selection.
The Enforcement Directorate has alleged that former Karnataka Public Service Commission chairman Shivashankarappa Sahukar and commission member BV Geetha leaked answer keys for the examination conducted for recruitment to 400 Veterinary Officer posts for illegal gratification. The agency said Geetha allegedly received ₹20 lakh in cash as an advance against an agreed ₹40 lakh from one candidate, while Sahukar allegedly received ₹10 lakh against an agreed ₹20 lakh from another.
The ED Bengaluru Zonal Office, in a statement on 8 October, said Geetha obtained access to the leaked answer keys from Gyanendra Kumar Gangwar, then KPSC Controller of Examinations, who was responsible for the custody and supervision of confidential examination material.
According to the ED, the Controller of Examinations used the candidates’ seating arrangements and access to the jumbled question papers and answer keys to provide Geetha with the correct answers to the first 50 questions.
The agency said six candidates had so far been identified as having secured higher scores in the final selection list. Further investigation was under way to identify the complete list of candidates who received the leaked material.
The ED is probing the money trail in the case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, based on multiple FIRs registered at the Vidhana Soudha police station in Bengaluru under Sections 318(3), 318(4), 336(2), 336(3) and 340(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
The agency arrested Sahukar and Geetha on 6 October in connection with the probe, weeks after former KPSC Controller of Examinations Gyanendra Kumar Gangwar and principal accused Basavaraj Kannale were arrested.
The ED has also found that certain KPSC members and officials allegedly used confidential information from the 1:3 merit list to approach candidates and demand money by assuring them of selection.
Normally, individual marks are not disclosed when the 1:3 eligibility list is published. The ED said KPSC members and officials obtained candidates’ confidential merit positions from the Controller of Examinations’ office and assessed their chances of making the final selection.
They then allegedly approached candidates and offered assurances of selection in return for illegal gratification. The agency said the amounts demanded ranged from ₹10 lakh to ₹50 lakh, depending on the nature and level of the post.
The ED said the confidential merit information available within the KPSC was misused to extract illegal gratification and generate proceeds of crime.
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The ED earlier said its investigation into the alleged paper leak found that candidates who paid ₹30 lakh to ₹40 lakh each for selection as veterinary officers were taken to a resort on the outskirts of Bengaluru, given the leaked recruitment examination paper with the correct answers and made to memorise them before being driven to their examination centres the next day.
In a statement on 30 September, the agency said the paper was leaked one day before the examination for 400 Veterinary Officer posts and supplied by the principal accused, Basavaraj Kannale, who had allegedly obtained it through Gyanendra Kumar Gangwar, IAS, then Controller of Examinations of the Karnataka Public Service Commission.
Around ₹80 lakh was initially demanded from each candidate before the amount was negotiated down to ₹30 lakh–₹40 lakh, according to the agency.
Portions were collected in cash and through banking channels. Some candidates were made to furnish blank signed cheques and promissory notes to secure the balance, some of which the agency said were later recovered and seized.
As Controller of Examinations, Gangwar was responsible, among other things, for finalising and supervising the printing of question papers and maintaining custody of confidential examination material. The agency said he misused his official position to facilitate the leakage of the question paper to Kannale in return for illegal gratification.
Kannale then identified and approached multiple candidates and assured them of selection in the examination, the ED said.
After receiving the leaked paper, Kannale and his associates allegedly took the candidates to a resort on Bengaluru’s outskirts and supervised them as they memorised the answers.
On the examination day, they were transported to their respective centres in vehicles arranged by Kannale and/or his associates.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
