Marks withheld for extortion: How KPSC officials used merit lists to demand bribes

The ED findings emerged during the investigation into Gyanendra Kumar Gangwar, 41, an IAS officer and former controller of KPSC examinations. (Express file photo)

The Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) deliberately suppressed candidate score details in initial selection lists in recent years to allow its chairman and members to negotiate bribes using confidential performance data, an Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigation has revealed. The revelation followed the arrest and 14-day custody of IAS officer Gyanendra Kumar Gangwar, 41, who served as KPSC’s controller of examinations from January 2024 to March 2026.

At the conclusion of Gangwar’s custodial interrogation on Saturday, the agency informed a special court that as many as 13 job recruitment drives conducted during his tenure will need to be investigated. Gangwar, the primary accused in the question paper leak for the January 8–9, 2026, exam to recruit 400 veterinary officers, allegedly facilitated widespread corruption through a middleman who collected Rs 20 lakh to Rs 40 lakh each from at least 20 candidates.

Exploitation of 1:3 merit lists

According to ED submissions in court, the agency uncovered a systematic racket centred on preparing and finalising the 1:3 merit list, a preliminary shortlist containing three candidates for every available post.

To enable bribe negotiations, KPSC allegedly began publishing 1:3 eligibility lists with only roll numbers and names, omitting candidates’ actual marks. KPSC members and officials then extracted performance details from Gangwar to identify high-ranking candidates, as per the agency.

“Once the merit of a candidate is known, the concerned member, official or middleman contacts the candidate and negotiates the bribe amount; the higher the candidate’s chance of selection, the higher the amount demanded,” the ED informed the court.

During interrogation, Gangwar disclosed that after the veterinary officers’ 1:3 merit list was published on February 4, 2026, suspended KPSC chairman Shivashankarappa Sahukar, along with KPSC officials B V Geetha, Shanta Hosmani, Elfreda D Silva, and others, approached him with candidate names to assess their selection prospects. Handwritten notes seized from a KPSC official’s residence further corroborated the scheme, listing shortlisted candidates who paid bribes but failed to make the final list.

ED seeks expanded probe

ED counsel Maheshwari D M argued in court that the proceeds of crime generated across all recruitment drives during Gangwar’s tenure remain unquantified, requiring a comprehensive investigation into all involved officials, candidates, and transaction amounts.

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Defence counsel Siri R argued that the absence of separate FIRs for the other 13 recruitment drives limits the ED’s jurisdiction under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) strictly to the veterinary officer recruitment scam. In response, the ED maintained that all recruitment drives during Gangwar’s tenure constitute a continuing money-laundering offence. The court remanded the suspended IAS officer to 14 days of judicial custody and set his bail hearing for October 8.