A CID probe into the money trail of the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) veterinary doctor recruitment scam has allegedly found that bribes paid by some aspirants to a middleman were used to purchase jewellery worth Rs 52 lakh for a friend of a senior IAS officer who served as the commission’s exam controller.Public Prosecutor K L Bhagyalakshmi presented the CID’s findings before a Bengaluru court on Thursday during a hearing of a bail plea filed by the middleman, Basavaraj Kannale.According to the CID, arrested IAS officer Gyanendra Kumar Gangwar diverted Rs 52 lakh of funds collected from 11 aspirants—who paid around Rs 70 lakh through RTGS bank transfers to accounts indicated by Kannale—to a Bhima Gold store for purchasing gold and diamond jewellery.The CID presented records of accounts in cooperative banks in the Bidar region where aspirants allegedly transferred funds and the subsequent transfer of funds to a gold showroom. The CID also submitted CCTV pictures of Gangwar and his female friend purchasing gold jewellery worth Rs 21 lakh and gold and diamond jewellery worth Rs 23 lakh on different occasions at the gold showroom earlier this year.“The money paid through online transfers by some of the aspirants was deposited in accounts of friends of the accused in the Om Lakshmi Souharda Sahakari Sangh Niyamit Bank. The funds were then transferred to a gold store for purchase of Rs 52 lakh worth of gold and diamond jewellery by the controller of the exams,” Bhagyalakshmi told the court.Also Read | Question papers handed out in resorts: What Karnataka vet recruitment probe foundRs 11 lakh spent on air travel, funds withdrawn in UPCID sources said that, as per the probe, 11 aspirants paid around Rs 70 lakh in bank transfers and the remainder in black money to Kannale.Apart from the Rs 52 lakh allegedly used to purchase jewellery, around Rs 11 lakh was used for air travel by Gangwar’s female friend and some funds were withdrawn through an ATM in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, where the IAS officer is from, the CID told the court.Story continues below this adSome of the flight bookings were made through a travel agency operated by Kannale, the CID prosecutor said.CCTV footage, call records: IAS officer-middleman linksThe CID has also presented evidence suggesting a close association between Kannale and Gangwar: CCTV footage of Kannale visiting the IAS officer’s apartment and their phone call records.Kannale, who worked as an accountant in an agricultural banana market in Bengaluru for a monthly salary of Rs 20,000, has seen a meteoric rise in his wealth and businesses, especially following his association with Gangwar, who became the KPSC exam controller in 2024 and served in the position till March 2026, CID sources said. Kannale and Gangwar became acquainted around 2019 when the IAS officer served as the chief executive officer of Bidar, Kannale’s home district.The CID has seized as many as 13 bank accounts linked to Kannale, who identifies himself as a BJP worker and served as a personal aide to former BJP minister Dr Ashwathnarayan. A total of Rs 67 lakh has been frozen in the accounts. “The mastermind (in the exam fraud) is Kannale, who brings in the aspirants, collects funds, deposits the funds in the bank accounts of friends and distributes them,” Bhagyalakshmi told the court on Thursday.Story continues below this adThe CID refuted Kannale’s claims seeking bail because his wife was pregnant, stating that he was arrested at the Delhi airport on August 30 while he was allegedly set to flee to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan with visas valid till November 13. Kannale’s arrest came on the basis of information provided by Gangwar, who was arrested on August 29, the CID said.Also Read | ‘Public losing faith in exam system’: No advance bail for suspended Karnataka PSC chiefMiddleman allegedly offered leaked papers to 29 aspirantsKannale, identified by the CID as the mastermind of the fraud, allegedly approached 29 of the 1,400 aspirants for the 400 veterinary doctor posts with offers of providing the question papers for the entrance exams conducted on January 8 and 9 this year. Kannale allegedly exploited his ties with Gangwar to obtain the questions and leaked them to 11 aspirants who paid between Rs 35 lakh and Rs 80 lakh.“Aspirants from different parts of Karnataka came to Bengaluru before the exam and were taken to a resort on the outskirts by the middlemen a day before the exam. At the resort they were confined to different rooms and provided the questions for the exam. They were trained to answer and transported to the exam venue the next day,” a CID source said.According to the FIR registered in the case following a complaint by Dr S Manjunath, a veterinary doctor who was not selected, 29 aspirants who scored poorly in college exams scored unusually high marks (in the range of 450 plus out of 500) in the entrance exams. Of the 1,400 aspirants who wrote the exam, 329 were selected.Story continues below this ad“All communications between the involved parties were carried out through encrypted channels, ensuring confidentiality and security. It appears that the question papers were provided to the candidates in both handwritten and printed formats,” the source added. “The mediators took responsibility for coordinating transport, including collecting and dropping off the candidates.”Also Read | Karnataka governor suspends KPSC chairman over job scamSuspended KPSC head cooperating with probe: CIDKPSC chairman Shivashankarappa S Sahukar, who has been suspended for a separate fraud linked to the illegal recruitment of his daughter as an industrial extension officer, is also under investigation for the veterinarians exam fraud for allegedly recruiting people related to him through illegal means. The CID has allegedly found prima facie evidence of links between Sahukar, his family members, and Kannale.On Thursday, the CID told the Bengaluru sessions court that it had not placed Shivashankarappa under arrest on account of his cooperation with the investigation and his regular appearance for questioning whenever summoned.