ED conducts searches at 21 locations in KPSC veterinary officer recruitment case
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) carried out searches at 21 premises across Karnataka and Ahmedabad in Gujarat on August 18 in connection with alleged irregularities in the recruitment of Veterinary Officers by the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC).
The searches covered the KPSC office in Bengaluru, the residence of suspended KPSC Chairperson Shivashankarappa S. Sahukar, and that of KPSC member Shanta Hosmani. Premises of alleged middlemen, selected candidates, and Edutest Solutions Private Limited, the agency responsible for digital evaluation of examination papers, were also searched, the ED said in a statement.
The locations span Bengaluru, Hassan, Chitradurga, Davanagere, Raichur, Karwar, Kalaburagi and Belagavi in Karnataka, in addition to Ahmedabad.
The ED action follows four first information reports (FIRs) registered at the Vidhana Soudha police station in Bengaluru, alleging irregularities in the final selection process for Veterinary Officers. The investigation into these cases has been handed over to the Karnataka State Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
According to the complaints, alleged middlemen approached candidates, including the complainant, and demanded between ₹70 lakh and ₹80 lakh per candidate in exchange for ensuring their selection. The complainant is said to have provided investigating agencies with audio recordings of conversations with the alleged middlemen, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The allegations under investigation include leakage of question papers, tampering with OMR answer sheets, manipulation of the evaluation process, and facilitating the selection of relatives of KPSC officials.
The ED is examining the alleged money trail and financial transactions linked to the recruitment irregularities as part of its investigation under Section 17 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, which empowers the agency to conduct searches and seizures.
The KPSC is a constitutional body responsible for recruiting candidates for various state government posts. The veterinary officer recruitment exercise is among several selections conducted by the commission, which has faced scrutiny in the past for alleged procedural lapses. The ED's searches are aimed at tracing the flow of funds related to the alleged irregularities, and further action will depend on the evidence gathered during the probe.
