An investigation by the Enforcement Directorate into the Karnataka veterinary officer recruitment examination has uncovered an alleged cash-for-jobs scam involving former top officials of the Karnataka Public Service Commission. The agency told a special court that former commission chairman Shivashankarappa Sahukar and member B V Geetha leaked answer keys to select candidates a day ahead of the test held on January 9, 2026. The findings emerged after investigators cross-referenced the optical mark recognition answer sheets of suspected candidates with both the preliminary and revised answer keys issued by the recruiting body.
Discrepancy in Revised Key Unravels Paper Leak
The agency noted that the first 80 answers marked by six candidates matched the preliminary answer key released by the commission with absolute precision. However, when the commission subsequently issued a revised key correcting several errors, six to seven answers originally recorded as correct by these candidates turned out to be incorrect. Investigators pointed out that this direct alignment with the flawed draft key established that the candidates had memorised leaked answers prior to the test. All six candidates went on to secure leading ranks, bagging the first, third, eighth, ninth, 11th, and 12th positions among nearly 1,400 applicants who took the exam.
Insider Collusion and Lucrative Cash Deals
Sahukar and Geetha were taken into custody on October 6 following revelations that they obtained the sensitive material from examination controller Gyanendra Kumar Gangwar. The controller held exclusive custody over confidential examination logistics, including specific question paper series, seating charts, and candidate allocations, data that was ordinarily inaccessible even to the chairman. Gangwar allegedly provided answers tailored to specific paper codes to Geetha, who then routed them to the candidates. For instance, the top-ranked candidate received answers for the D and S series of the General Science and Veterinary Science papers near a club in north Bengaluru under a deal negotiated for ₹40 lakh, with ₹20 lakh paid as an advance. In a parallel transaction, Sahukar allegedly agreed to clear the third-ranked candidate for ₹20 lakh, taking an initial payment of ₹10 lakh before a representative delivered handwritten answers at a hotel in north Bengaluru.
Wider Probe Points to Organised Coaching at Resort
The ongoing investigation has revealed that the malpractice extended beyond individual leaks, pointing to a wider operation involving 11 additional candidates. Gangwar and a middleman, Basavaraj Kannale, who were arrested earlier by the state Criminal Investigation Department and later detained by the central agency, allegedly accommodated candidates at a resort on the outskirts of Bengaluru. The candidates were provided 60 to 80 questions along with answers on January 8, coached overnight, and transported directly to exam centres the following morning. The recruitment was held to fill 400 vacancies, leading to the selection of 329 candidates, comprising 273 under the general quota and 56 under the backlog quota. Sahukar had already been suspended in August by Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot over documentation irregularities linked to his daughter’s appointment, and the allegations in the veterinary recruitment case are yet to be established in court.
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