A CID investigation into the alleged KPSC recruitment scam in Karnataka has found that intermediary Basavaraj Kannale told investigators he threw a laptop, mobile phones and other documents into the Cauvery river in Mandya district, according to officials familiar with the inquiry.
Kannale, who is in CID custody, allegedly disposed of the items after the state government handed the investigation to the agency. Investigators are examining technical evidence, including mobile-phone location data and CCTV footage, to verify his account and establish what happened to the devices and documents, CID officials said.
Two mobile phones belonging to Kannale and 10 admit cards recovered from candidates in Sanjaynagar have been seized and sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory, the officials said. Investigators are also examining whether another mobile phone in his possession was thrown into the river.
Kannale is accused of collecting money from candidates by promising to secure veterinary officer posts. The investigation has found that candidates who paid advance amounts were allegedly called to an office in Rajajinagar and later taken to a house in Devarayanadurga and a resort in Andhra Pradesh, where they were made to write examinations, according to the report.
Investigators also suspect that Kannale planned to travel to Uzbekistan with the help of an acquaintance and remain there. He was arrested at Delhi airport on August 30, according to sources cited in the report.
The CID custody of Kannale and IAS officer Gyanendra Kumar Gangwar is scheduled to end on September 9. Both are expected to be produced before a court that afternoon. The court could consider a request from the Enforcement Directorate for custody under a body warrant, the sources said.
The investigation widened after the Karnataka High Court rejected former KPSC chairman Shivashankarappa Sahukar’s application for anticipatory bail. CID officials subsequently searched Sahukar’s residence and the Yeshwanthpur flat of Rakesh, an RTO inspector and Sahukar’s relative, on Monday night. Documents were reportedly seized during the searches.
Sahukar has appeared before CID investigators twice and has maintained that any issue concerning a job promised to his daughter was a technical error, not an illegal act carried out in the name of the commission. Investigators, however, suspect that he had a role in the alleged irregularities based on questioning of Gangwar and Kannale, according to sources.
CID teams are also searching for former KPSC member Shanta Hosamani, who is suspected of involvement in the case. The Enforcement Directorate searched the KPSC office on August 18 and later searched Hosamani’s residence based on documents recovered there. Her mobile phone has reportedly been switched off for 15 days. A lookout notice has been issued, and investigators are preparing another notice before seeking an arrest warrant if she fails to appear, CID sources said.
The case began after Manjunath of Channarayapatna taluk and 24 other candidates complained on August 2 that irregularities had occurred in the recruitment of veterinary officers in the Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Department. An FIR was registered at the Vidhana Soudha police station against Sahukar and others. Police are also investigating an audio recording circulating on social media that allegedly contains threats to the complainants.
