Karnataka High Court reconstitutes SIT to probe KPSC recruitment scams
Senior IPS officer R Hitendra has been appointed to lead the reconstituted Special Investigation Team investigating alleged recruitment frauds.
The Karnataka High Court on Monday reconstituted the Special Investigation Team (SIT) tasked with investigating two alleged recruitment scams in the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC). Senior IPS officer R Hitendra, the Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) for Law and Order, has been appointed as the new head of the SIT, according to reports from The Indian Express and The New Indian Express.
The appointment of R Hitendra replaces DGP-rank officer Alok Kumar. The court also appointed ADGP (Administration) Soumendu Mukherjee to the team, replacing IPS officer Dr Divya Gopinath. Three other members, Anup A Shetty, Kushal Chouksey, and Kshama Mishra, will continue in the SIT.
Justice M Nagaprasanna stated that the reconstitution aims to ensure the investigation is undertaken with renewed independence and remains impervious to institutional or extraneous influences. The court ruled that no officers associated with the previous Criminal Investigation Department (CID) probe should be inducted into the SIT as an assisting team.
The two cases involve alleged irregularities in the recruitment of 400 veterinary officers and the alleged illegal selection of the daughter of suspended KPSC chairman Shivashankrappa Sahukar for a government job. In the veterinary officer case, it is alleged that 29 of 329 selected candidates paid bribes between Rs 20 lakh and Rs 40 lakh.
The court directed that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the SIT must proceed independently in their respective statutory spheres with coordination and cooperation. The state government has been ordered to provide the SIT with all necessary infrastructure, personnel, and logistical assistance for the investigation.