BENGALURU: An FIR was registered against suspended Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) chairman S Shivashankarappa Sahukar, former KPSC members, officials, and 29 selected candidates over alleged irregularities in the recruitment of 400 veterinary officer posts in the Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Department.
The Vidhana Soudha police registered the case on Friday based on a complaint filed by Dr Manjunatha, a veterinary doctor from Hassan district, alleging paper leaks, OMR tampering, nepotism, leakage of candidates’ personal information, and large-scale manipulation in the recruitment process.
The FIR said that the KPSC conducted examinations on January 8 and 9 this year to recruit 400 veterinary officers and published the final selection list on July 17. Manjunatha has said that some candidates who had cleared the Indian Forest Service (IFS) examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) scored less than 350 marks in the examination.
In contrast, several candidates with only average academic records in veterinary studies allegedly scored more than 400 marks, raising suspicion over the selection process.
He said that one of Shivashankarappa’s relatives- Sooguresh Jaka- despite graduating with a low CGPA, secured more than 450 marks in the KPSC examination and ranked among the top candidates.
Some candidates switched off their phones before and during the examination and were allegedly taken to resorts and hotels outside the state, where they were provided with question papers and trained before being brought to examination centres. The complaint said that several candidates deliberately left most answers blank on their OMR sheets. The complainant sought a forensic examination of the OMR sheets and CCTV footage from the examination centres.
The FIR also said that middlemen obtained confidential details of shortlisted candidates and demanded Rs 80 lakh in exchange for securing government jobs, asking candidates to pay Rs 40 lakh in advance. The complainant claimed to have submitted audio and video evidence supporting these allegations and that KPSC officials may have leaked candidates’ personal information to brokers.
The complaint stated that 24 veterinary doctors lost out on appointments due to the alleged malpractice. The police said a case is registered against the former KPSC chairman, the then KPSC members and officials, without naming any individual. However, the complaint names 29 selected candidates who allegedly benefited from the irregularities.