KPSC recruitment scam: CID arrests key middleman Basavaraj Kannale
CID arrests Basavaraj Kannale, a key middleman in the KPSC veterinary recruitment scam, from Delhi. He was remanded to 10-day custody.
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has arrested Basavaraj Kannale, a key middleman in the alleged scam in the recruitment of veterinary officers by the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC). Kannale, reportedly a local BJP leader from Bhalki in Bidar district, was taken into custody from Delhi on Monday.
Kannale is alleged to be one of the kingpins in the recruitment irregularities. He was presented before a magistrate court in Bengaluru on Monday along with IAS officer Gnanendra Kumar Gangwar, former Controller of Examination at KPSC, who was arrested on Sunday. Both have been remanded to 10-day custody.
Sources said Kannale was appointed as a member of the Syndicate of Tumkur University in August 2025. He is suspected to have acted as a conduit between job aspirants and influential persons, allegedly helping candidates secure government posts. Investigators are also probing financial transactions and assets worth crores of rupees linked to the scam.
On Monday, CID officials conducted searches at two properties linked to Kannale in Bhalki taluk — his residence in Donagapur village and another house in Lecturer Colony, Bhalki town.
The arrest comes amid political sparring over the scam. Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy has targeted Home Minister Priyank Kharge, while the Congress has pointed out that the KPSC official in question was appointed during the BJP's tenure.