KPSC Veterinary Exam Scam: 11 Candidates Allegedly Paid Bribes, Probe Finds

Nine candidates who took the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) exam this year for veterinary doctor recruitment allegedly paid a combined Rs 1.52 crore in bribes to obtain question papers beforehand, according to investigations by the state police and the Enforcement Directorate (ED). 

The paper leak allegedly helped three candidates secure the top three positions in the backlog category and six others rank among the top 15 in the main category.

The lowest-ranked candidate identified as part of the KPSC exam scam in the now-withheld final list of 329 selected candidates secured the 84th position in the main category, according to an analysis by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the ED.

The CID unit of the Karnataka Police and the ED have arrested Gyanendra Kumar Gangwar, a former Controller of Examinations at the KPSC and an IAS officer, along with Basavaraj Kannale, a middleman who has been linked to the BJP. Kannale allegedly solicited candidates willing to pay bribes for access to the question papers of the January 8 and 9 exams.

Probe Continues Into Other Suspected Candidates

However, the investigative agencies have not arrested any of the candidates who allegedly paid bribes. They are continuing to investigate other candidates on the suspects’ list before deciding whether they should be treated as accused, approvers or witnesses.

So far, the CID investigation has identified 11 candidates who allegedly paid money in connection with the recruitment fraud. Of the 1,400 candidates who appeared for the exams for 400 available positions, 329 were selected, 56 in the backlog category and 273 in the main category.

According to disclosures made before a court, the two investigations found that the IAS officer allegedly leaked the exam questions a day before the veterinary doctors’ test to a middleman, who then allegedly passed them on to candidates who had paid in advance. The candidates were allegedly taken to luxury villas on the outskirts of Bengaluru.

Four top-ranked candidates allegedly paid Rs 77 lakh in bribes

The analysis also shows that candidates who secured the fourth, fifth, sixth and 13th positions in the main category were among those who allegedly paid bribes. They scored 483.75 marks (80.62 per cent), 483 marks (80.5 per cent), 471.5 marks (78.50 per cent) and 443.25 marks (73.87 per cent), respectively. The total amount allegedly paid by these candidates was Rs 77 lakh.

The candidates who ranked seventh and 10th in the recruitment exam were also allegedly among those who paid undisclosed amounts. They scored 468.75 marks (78.12 per cent) and 458.25 marks (76.37 per cent), respectively.

The candidate who secured the 84th rank was allegedly not involved in the paper-leak phase of the scam. Sources said he was approached by middlemen after the exam and told that he was unlikely to qualify unless he paid Rs 30 lakh to facilitate the illegal alteration of his OMR sheet.

The candidate allegedly agreed to the offer, and his payment was partly used by the middlemen to fund another candidate who had ranked first in the backlog category, according to sources.