ED ATTACHED PROPERTIES 1.22 CRORES OF KPSC, SHIVAMURTHY, GANGWAR, IAS, THE THEN CONTROLLER OF EXAMINATIONS (

Face2News/Bangaluru

Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Bengaluru Zonal Office, has provisionally attached movable and immovable properties amounting to Rs. 1.22 Crores, under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA), in the case of KPSC Recruitment Scam. The Provisional Attachment Order (PAO) No. 43/2026 dated 13/11/2026 has been issued under Section 5(1) of the PMLA, 2002.

The provisionally attached assets comprise immovable properties and movable properties belonging to Shivashankarappa Sahukar, the then Chairman, Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC), Geetha B V Shivamurthy, Member, KPSC, and Gyanendra Kumar Gangwar, IAS, the then Controller of Examinations (COE), KPSC.

ED investigation was initiated on the basis of multiple FIRs registered by the 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, relating to the irregularities in the recruitment exam for the Veterinary Officer post in the Department of Animal Husbandry & Fisheries of the state government of Karnataka, and also submission of false certificates in the KPSC recruitments.

Investigation has revealed that the then Chairman, a Member and the then CoE of the KPSC, in conspiracy with Basavaraj Kannale and others, abused their official positions and induced candidates to pay illegal gratification in exchange for assured selection, through

(i) leakage of question papers with the correct answers marked,

(ii) leakage of candidate-specific correct answer keys, and

(iii) misuse of confidential marks at the stage of the 1:3 eligibility list.

Further investigation has revealed that Gyanendra Kumar Gangwar, the then CoE, leaked the question papers, with the correct answers, to his close associate, Basavaraj Kannale, on 07/01/2026.

Basavaraj Kannale circulated them among 10 candidates at villas on the outskirts of Bengaluru on 08/01/2026, i.e., one day before the examination, and demanded illegal gratification ranging from Rs.20 Lakhs to Rs.40 Lakhs, out of which a part amount was received as advance, and the remaining amount secured through blank signed cheques and promissory notes, from the candidates. The OMR answer sheets of these candidates matched the initial answer key published by the KPSC, including answers later found to be incorrect in the revised answer key.