A magistrate court has permitted the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to question IAS officer Gnanendra Kumar Gangwar and intermediary Basavaraj Kannale, who are accused in the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) irregularities case, according to a report by Prajavani on Friday.
The ED sought permission to take the two accused persons into custody for questioning after their custody with the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) ended. The court has allowed ED officials to question them and record their statements inside Bengaluru’s Parappana Agrahara Central Prison, where the two are lodged.
Officials from the central agency were expected to visit the prison on Friday or Saturday to question the accused, the report said. The permission will allow the ED to examine the financial aspects of the case alongside the CID investigation into alleged irregularities in the KPSC recruitment process.
Gangwar, who had served as KPSC’s examination controller, and Kannale were arrested by CID investigators on August 30. The CID had obtained 10 days of custody for questioning before the accused were remanded to judicial custody.
According to CID sources cited by Prajavani, investigators allege that Gangwar and Kannale received large sums through the sale of question papers. The sources alleged that money connected to the case was used to purchase property in Gangwar’s native place and to buy gold jewellery worth ₹26 lakh for a woman described in the report as his partner, who works for a private news channel in Delhi.
The CID also alleged that approximately ₹38 lakh from the suspected proceeds was transferred to a benami account. Investigators reportedly questioned Gangwar about jewellery purchases made at stores in Bengaluru and Delhi using funds from that account. The report said he initially denied purchasing any jewellery, but that investigators showed him purchase receipts and closed-circuit television footage before he allegedly admitted to the transactions.
The allegations have not been tested in a final court judgment. The report did not include a response from Gangwar or Kannale to the specific allegations attributed to CID sources.
The investigation has also expanded to former KPSC chairman Shivashankarappa Sahukar, who is reportedly unavailable to investigators. Special CID teams have been searching for him in Bengaluru, Kalaburagi and other states, according to the report.
The Karnataka High Court rejected Sahukar’s anticipatory bail application on September 7. Since then, he has allegedly switched off his mobile phone and has not been in contact with investigators, the report said. The next immediate step in the case is the ED’s questioning of Gangwar and Kannale at Parappana Agrahara prison.
