The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) probing the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) recruitment scam has found that 15 per cent of the total aspirants paid bribes ranging from Rs. 45 lakh to Rs. 75 lakh fixed by Chairman, Gonal Bheemappa, and other members of the commission.
This 15 per cent made it to the personality test for the post of gazetted probationers earlier this year, the CID found, all of whom were eventually selected.
The CID team which analysed the mobile SIM cards and call details of Mr. Bheemappa and other members as also that of the successful candidates discovered the nexus and corruption involved in the scam, according to the report.
The report is scheduled to be placed before the State Cabinet when it meets on Friday. The probe found that Mr. Bheemappa instructed a section of candidates to opt for geography subject as one of optionals in the main exams. He later gave standing instructions to the invigilators to award maximum marks for this group of candidates appearing for geography.
The CID probe found that 716 out of 6,205 candidates had written the main examination with geography as an optional subject. Of these, 571 candidates appeared for both papers of geography in the main examination and 165 candidates of the 571 qualified for the personality test, stated the CID report.
This proved that 15 per cent of the total candidates called for the personality tests had geography as one of the optional subjects.
The CID found that the interview process was an exercise to favour undeserving, but “paid candidates”, at the expense of meritorious ones. The Chairman and members prepared a rate for the various posts depending on their importance.
The CID found that the approximate rate for the Assistant Commissioner (revenue) post ranged from Rs. 75 lakh to Rs. 1.5 crore, whereas the rate for Deputy Superintendent of Police post started from Rs. 60 lakh going up to Rs. 80 lakh. The tahsildar post was in the range of Rs. 30 lakh to Rs. 60 lakh and for the post of assistant directors of various departments, the payment was Rs. 45 lakh.
Trailing the money transaction, the CID officials confiscated movable and immovable properties of Mr. Bheemappa on the grounds that they were disproportionate to his known sources of income.
