On Tuesday the Criminal Investigation Department conducted a raid on the Sanjaynagar residence of Basavaraj Kannale, a Karnataka BJP leader who has been arrested in connection with the alleged Karnataka Public Service Commission recruitment scam.
Investigators entered the house, collected call detail records and retrieved CCTV footage, sources said. The probe has identified about 20 candidates willing to become approvers, each confessing to participation in the scheme. The CID is also scrutinising irregularities linked to the selection of Karnataka Administrative Service officers and Deputy Superintendents of Police.
Suspended KPSC chairman Sahukar Shivashankarappa has been listed as accused No. 1, KPSC members as accused No. 2, KPSC officials as accused No. 4, and 29 candidates who were selected as accused No. 5. The arrested IAS officer Gyanendra Kumar Gangwar is named among the fifth accused, while Basavaraj Kannale is recorded as the sixth accused. Both men remain in CID custody, and further legal steps are anticipated against the remaining accused who have not yet been detained.
A Bengaluru court on Monday ordered a ten‑day CID custody for Gyanendra Kumar and Kannale, extending it until September 9 to facilitate questioning on alleged question‑paper leaks, manipulation of OMR answer sheets and other recruitment irregularities involving veterinary officer posts. Kumar, who oversaw examinations and the security of question papers, was initially placed in judicial custody for one day and was scheduled to appear before an open court on August 31. Interrogations on August 28 and 29 continued late into the night, with officials probing inconsistencies in his statements and evidence of OMR‑sheet tampering. The investigation also explores the role of alleged middlemen and reports that selected candidates received training at hotels and resorts as part of the purported scheme.
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📰 Source: Mangalorean News