BENGALURU: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday searched 21 premises across Karnataka and in Ahmedabad in connection with alleged irregularities in the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) recruitment of Veterinary Officers.
The locations searched included the KPSC office, the residence of KPSC Chairman (to be reinstated) Shivashankarappa S Sahukar, KPSC member Shanta Hosmani, alleged middlemen, selected candidates, and the premises of Edutest Solutions, responsible for the digital evaluation of examination papers. ED is probing the matter after registering a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
According to an ED press release, it searched 21 premises across Karnataka, including in Bengaluru, Hassan, Chitradurga, Davanagere, Raichur, Karwar, Kalaburagi and Belagavi, as well as in Ahmedabad.
The ED action comes after four FIRs were registered at the Vidhana Soudha police station in Bengaluru, alleging serious irregularities in the final selection process for the Veterinary Officers’ recruitment examination.
The ED added that, some middlemen allegedly contacted candidates and demanded bribes ranging from Rs 70 lakh to Rs 80 lakh to ensure their selection. To substantiate the allegations, the complainant submitted audio recordings of conversations with the middlemen to the police.
The allegations also include paper leak, tampering with OMR answer sheets and facilitating the selection of relatives of KPSC officials.