The investigation into alleged irregularities in Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) recruitment has reached the doorstep of its former chairman, with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arresting Shivashankarappa S. Sahukar on Tuesday.
Sahukar was arrested after ED officials conducted a fresh search at his residence in Bengaluru’s Dollars Colony. He was questioned for several hours before being taken into custody in connection with the alleged money-laundering aspects of the KPSC recruitment scam.
Sahukar was named as an accused in the case relating to the recruitment of 400 veterinary officers. The CID investigation alleged that the examination paper was leaked to selected candidates and that middlemen collected large sums from aspirants. According to the CID investigation, question paper leak training for candidates was allegedly organised in a resort. Investigators also alleged that around 20 candidates paid between ₹20 lakh and ₹40 lakh to obtain the leaked questions.
The case had earlier widened with the arrest of IAS officer Gyanendra Kumar Gangwar, who served as KPSC’s Controller of Examinations when the veterinary officer examination was conducted. The ED has alleged that Gangwar received money through middleman in connection with the paper leak. Investigators are now examining whether similar methods were used in other KPSC recruitment drives conducted between 2024 and 2026. The ED has told a special court that as many as 13 recruitment drives may require investigation.
The CID investigation had also found that Sahukar, his son and other relatives were in contact with Gangwar and other accused persons. The Karnataka High Court, while rejecting Sahukar’s anticipatory bail plea, said the material placed before it showed that he was in contact with the accused and some selected candidates.
Sahukar had also come under scrutiny over allegations that he failed to disclose a conflict of interest while his daughters participated in recruitment processes. The Governor had suspended him over the allegations, including the claim that one of his daughters had obtained an income and caste certificate declaring an annual family income of ₹40,000.
The Karnataka High Court later quashed the suspension on procedural grounds, without examining the merits of the allegations. The government subsequently followed the procedure and removed Sahukar as KPSC chairman.
Sahukar had admitted to an error in his daughter’s case but denied any role in the alleged recruitment scam. His arrest marks a significant escalation in the investigation, which has now brought the former head of the recruitment commission directly into the ED’s money-laundering probe. The development also comes against the backdrop of Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar recently saying that he was considering whether the recruitment commission could be shut down, citing allegations of corruption plaguing the system.
