BENGALURU: Former KPSC Examination Controller Gyanendra Kumar Gangwar allegedly used a confidential chart containing candidates’ seating arrangements and paper-series details to identify the correct answer keys for six candidates before the Veterinary Officer recruitment examination, according to the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) investigation.
The probe revealed that suspended IAS officer matched the roll numbers of selected candidates with their respective paper series and supplied the corresponding answer keys to former KPSC member BV Geetha.
ED probe said, the confidential jumbled answer-key chart and candidates’ seating arrangement were accessible only to the Controller of Examination. For instance, Dr Vinuta Mallappa Hittalamani was allotted the ‘B’ Series for the General Paper and ‘Q’ Series for the Specific Paper, while Dr Nandeesh B Bhaddurgatte was allotted the ‘D’ Series and ‘S’ Series, respectively. Gangwar allegedly told investigators that Geetha had approached him a day before the examination with the roll numbers of six candidates appearing for the Veterinary Officer post and sought the answer keys corresponding to their respective paper series.
Gangwar allegedly matched the roll numbers with the paper-series details and provided the correct answer keys for the first 80 questions. Geetha allegedly passed these answers to the six candidates, who were later selected for the post, in exchange for bribes, according to the probe. The six candidates have been identified as Dr Nandeesh B Bhaddurgatte, Dr Sooguresh Jaka, Dr Kiran Kumar M, Dr Tejas S S, Dr Vinuta Mallappa Hittalamani and Dr Naveen Kumar N.
The ED probe revealed that, certain KPSC members and officials allegedly misused confidential 1:3 merit-list information to demand bribes from candidates by assuring them of selection in recruitment exams.
Based on material seized from a KPSC official Gangwar, investigators found that officials accessed candidates’ confidential merit positions from the Controller of Examination office and assessed their chances of securing final selection.
While KPSC generally does not disclose individual marks when publishing the 1:3 eligibility list, officials allegedly used the confidential information to approach candidates and assure them of selection in return for illegal gratification. Bribes ranging from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 50 lakh were allegedly demanded, depending on the nature and level of the post.
