CID files charge sheet against 6 in KPSC scam

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has filed a charge sheet against Gonal Bheemappa, former chairperson of the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC), and five others for their alleged role in the irregularities in the recruitment of 362 Group ‘A’ and ‘B’ gazetted probationers in 2011.

The charge sheet has been filed in the 23rd Additional City Civil and Sessions (Special) Court, Bangalore, against Bheemappa, S Arunachalam, special officer, KPSC, B Ashok Kumar, personal assistant to KPSC member Mangala Sridhar, and Sudhir alias Sridhar, Somanath M Chickmath alias Somesh and K R Rajashekar, who are officials in various departments, an official release from CID said on Tuesday.

As the sanction for prosecution from the government is pending with regard to Mangala Sridhar and former KPSC secretary Sundar, whose names figured in the FIR, investigation against them is pending, the release said.

The CID has recorded the statement of 216 witnesses and filed a 10,521-page charge sheet, detailing the alleged involvement of the accused in the scam. The accused have been charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (DPAR) had filed a complaint at the Vidhana Soudha police station in 2013 alleging that irregularities had taken place in the preliminary and main examinations as well as interviews for the 162 posts of Group ‘A’ and 200 posts of Group ‘B’ gazetted probationers. Subsequently, the government ordered a CID probe.

Several candidates had accused the KPSC of deliberately awarding them less marks during interview even when they had scored high marks in written examination. The FIR was filed following a complaint by Dr H P S Mythri, an MD in Paediatrics and the topper in the Scheduled Tribes category in the KAS exams, that she was given low marks in the interview after she refused to heed the demand by Mangala Sridhar for a bribe of Rs 70 lakh for the post of Assistant Commissioner (Revenue). Mangala is a former president of the State BJP Mahila Morcha. She was also a corporator from the Jogupalya ward, Ulsoor in Bangalore for one term.