Court extends ED custody of IAS officer Gyanendra Kumar Gangwar by eight days

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A Bengaluru court on Saturday extended the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) custody of IAS officer Gyanendra Kumar Gangwar by another eight days in connection with its probe into alleged irregularities in the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) recruitment process.

Gangwar, who was arrested by the ED a week ago, had initially been remanded to six days of agency custody. He was produced before the court on Saturday and ED sought an extension, submitting that its investigation had uncovered information beyond the findings of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in the alleged irregularities in the Veterinary Officers’ Recruitment Examination.

The agency also reportedly submitted its findings to the court in a sealed cover. The ED informed the court that it suspected irregularities in multiple recruitment examinations and sought further custody to investigate the alleged money trail and other aspects of the case.

During an earlier custody hearing, the ED had alleged that Basavaraj Kannale, described by the agency as another key suspect and an associate of Gangwar, told investigators that several candidates had allegedly paid amounts of up to ₹1.5 crore. The ED further alleged that Kannale handed over ₹1.3 crore in cash to Gangwar.

Based on these allegations, the ED has initiated a money-laundering investigation under Sections 3 and 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

The ED has also alleged that Gangwar provided Kannale with question papers and answers on an HP pendrive on January 7, two days before the scheduled examination. A separate CID investigation had earlier reportedly found that around 60 to 80 questions were leaked to candidates and that around five candidates were allegedly given practice in answering the questions.

The allegations are part of an ongoing investigation, and the court’s decision to extend custody does not by itself establish guilt. Further investigation by the ED and CID is continuing.