Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], November 14 : The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Bengaluru Zonal Office, has provisionally attached movable and immovable properties amounting to Rs 1.22 crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) in the KPSC Recruitment Scam.
According to a press release issued on November 14, the Provisional Attachment Order dated November 13, 2026, has been issued under Section 5(1) of the PMLA, 2002.
The provisionally attached assets comprise immovable 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.
The ED investigation was initiated on the basis of multiple FIRs registered by 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 irregularities in the recruitment exam for the Veterinary Officer post in the Department of Animal Husbandry & Fisheries and submission of false certificates in KPSC recruitments.
The investigation revealed that the then Chairman, Member and 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 leakage of question papers with the correct answers marked, through leakage of candidate-specific correct answer keys, and through the misuse of confidential marks at the stage of the 1:3 eligibility list.
Further investigation revealed that Gyanendra Kumar Gangwar leaked the question papers, with the correct answers, to his close associate, Basavaraj Kannale, who then circulated them among 10 candidates at villas on the outskirts of Bengaluru on January 8, 2026, i.e., one day before the examination, and demanded illegal gratification ranging from Rs 20 lakhs to Rs 40 lakhs.
A part amount was received as advance, and the remaining amount was 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.
Furthermore, at the instance of Shivashankarappa Sahukar, Gyanendra Kumar Gangwar, by using the seating arrangements and jumbled charts (as he was the custodian), prepared the correct answers to 80 questions for six candidates, whose registration numbers were provided by Geetha B V, and handed them over to her on January 8, 2026.
In return, the then Chairman assured him of favourable interview marks in the KAS examination for a candidate of his choice. A notebook containing the centre-wise registration numbers of candidates, in the handwriting of Shivashankarappa Sahukar, was seized from his residence. Shivashankarappa Sahukar collected Rs 10 lakhs in cash from one candidate, against a deal of Rs 20 lakhs, and Geetha B V collected Rs 20 lakhs in cash from another candidate, against a deal of Rs. 40 lakhs.
The illegal gratification so derived was collected in cash and also through the bank accounts of Om Lakshmi Souharda Sahakari Sangha Niyamita, Bhalki (Bidar), and other third parties, and was disguised through entries in bogus savings accounts.
Out of the proceeds of crime, gold and diamond jewellery worth Rs 52.30 lakhs was purchased in the name of a third person for the benefit of Gyanendra Kumar Gangwar, with payments routed through third parties' accounts. The air travel expenses of Gyanendra Kumar Gangwar and his family members, amounting to Rs 13.31 lakhs, were also met by Basavaraj Kannale through third-party accounts.
Earlier, the ED conducted searches under Section 17 of the PMLA, 2002, at multiple premises, including the KPSC office, and arrested Basavaraj Kannale on September 17, 2026, Gyanendra Kumar Gangwar on September 18, 2026 and Shivashankarappa Sahukar and Geetha B V Shivamurthy on October 6, 2026, under Section 19 of the PMLA, 2002.
Further investigation is in progress.