ED searches IAS officer Gyanendra Kumar Gangwar’s Jayamahal home in KPSC recruitment case

Enforcement Directorate officials searched IAS officer Gyanendra Kumar Gangwar’s Jayamahal residence on Sunday in a money-laundering investigation linked to alleged irregularities in Karnataka Public Service Commission veterinary officer recruitment.

Officials reached the residential complex at about 2pm. Security guards initially said they needed Gangwar’s permission before allowing them in; officials entered after he spoke to the guards. With the house locked, a keymaker was called around 5pm. Investigators were examining documents and CCTV footage from the building.

Gangwar was the KPSC’s controller of examinations when the recruitment process for 400 veterinary officers took place. Cases registered at Vidhana Soudha police station in July alleged bribes of about Rs 70 lakh to Rs 80 lakh. The cases were later transferred to the CID, after which the ED began its investigation.

Gangwar was transferred after the allegations surfaced in March and is now director of the MSME, commerce and industries department. The search followed his reported absence from Bengaluru for several days; the Karnataka government had said he was in Uttar Pradesh after a family medical emergency and had taken a week’s leave. Gangwar had contacted the state government before the search.

The ED had earlier searched KPSC chairman Shivashankarappa S Sahukar’s home and KPSC offices in Bengaluru and Ahmedabad on August 18.