ED knocks on ‘missing’ IAS officer Gyanendra Kumar Gangwar’s door

Days after Karnataka-cadre IAS officer Gyanendra Kumar Gangwar went incommunicado with the government and Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge later confirmed he was found, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Sunday searched Gangwar’s residences in Bengaluru and Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh, widening its money-laundering investigation into alleged irregularities in a Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) recruitment examination.

The searches were carried out under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), officials said. The agency searched Gangwar’s residence in Bengaluru’s Jayamahal area and his premises in Bareilly. It was not immediately clear whether the officer was present at either of the two locations when the searches were conducted.

This development comes days after the ED conducted searches at the KPSC headquarters in Bengaluru and the premises of its former chairman Shivashankarappa S. Sahukar, member Shanta Hosmani, and others on August 18. The probe relates to alleged financial irregularities in the recruitment examination for veterinary officers.

Gangwar, a 2016-batch IAS officer, is currently serving as Director of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) in Karnataka’s Department of Industries and Commerce. He had earlier served as Controller of Examinations at the KPSC and was replaced from the post in March this year.

The ED action comes a day after Gangwar’s whereabouts became the subject of intense speculation in Karnataka.

The officer had been unreachable since August 20, prompting reports that he had gone missing. Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge on Saturday said Gangwar was at his native place Uttar Pradesh following a family emergency related to his father’s health.

Kharge said he had spoken to Gangwar and that the officer had communicated with the government regarding his absence. The minister also rejected suggestions that Gangwar’s absence was linked to the ED’s earlier searches in the KPSC case.

The latest searches bring the serving IAS officer directly into the ambit of the ED’s ongoing investigation, although the agency has not publicly disclosed the specific allegations against Gangwar or the material recovered during Sunday’s searches.

The investigation is centred on alleged irregularities in the KPSC recruitment process, including suspected financial wrongdoing.

Any role of individual officials will have to be established through the ongoing investigation, but the ED raid after the officer’s sudden absence from work draws special attention, particularly after it searched houses of other suspects in the KPSC scam.