BENGALURU: The state government on Thursday suspended IAS officer Gyanendra Kumar Gangwar, who was arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in connection with the alleged irregularities in various recruitments conducted by the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC).
The 2016-batch IAS officer has been suspened with immediate effect, pending investigation by the CID. During the period of suspension, he will not be allowed to leave the headquarters without the written permission of the state government.
The suspension order cited the letter by the deputy director, Directorate of Enforcement, Bangalore zonal office, stating that the material seized during the search and seizure operation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, indicates that corruption was prevalent in the recruitment processes conducted by the KPSC, “which is solely attributable to the Controller of Examinations of the KPSC”, the position which the IAS officer held earlier.
The order also cited the letter by the DGP, CID, stating that the officer was produced before the jurisdictional magistrate and was remanded to judicial custody on August 30, and he was subsequently taken into police custody the next day for further investigation.
“The state government considered the facts and circumstances of the case, including the nature and gravity of the allegations concerning the integrity, transparency and fairness of the recruitment processes conducted by the Karnataka Public Service Commission; and also took note of the fact that the officer, Gyanendra Kumar Gangwar, has been in official custody for a period exceeding 48 hours.
Therefore, the state government is satisfied prima facie that the conduct of the officer is in gross violation of Rule 3 of All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968, and it is necessary to place the officer under suspension,” the order stated.