13 calls with candidate before interview: CID on KPSC member under scrutiny

Hosamani, whose anticipatory bail plea was rejected by a sessions court on September 10, was allegedly part of an interview panel that selected the candidate.

“They called each other 13 times. The candidate has also admitted during police questioning that she contacted the KPSC member,” a public prosecutor told the court. The candidate is alleged to have called Hosamani on eight occasions, and she is reported to have called the candidate five times before the interview.

Calls 6 days before interview

While the nature of the conversations has not been established, the candidate has reportedly claimed that she identified Hosamani as a doctor and tried to reach out to her for advice. She has also claimed that she did not identify Hosamani when she was interviewed on May 8. “The phone calls happened up to six days before the job interview,” a source familiar with the CID probe said.

Hosamani and the candidate are under investigation after the president of the All Karnataka State Students Association, Kantharaju, filed a complaint with the Bengaluru police. Kantharaju alleged that the KAS selection process was compromised by Hosamani through corruption to favour the candidate.

According to his police complaint, the candidate “paid or agreed to pay an illegal gratification amount in connection with the intention of securing a post in KAS recruitment” after her interview.

Hosamani had gone missing after the Bengaluru police registered a case on August 7 following a preliminary probe. After her anticipatory bail plea was rejected, she appeared for questioning before the CID on September 17.

‘Members should not have contact with candidates’

Hosamani and the KAS candidate are accused of offences under the Karnataka Public Examination (Measures for Prevention of Corruption & Unfair Means in Recruitment) Act, 2023.

The CID said last week that it has yet to determine whether Hosamani collected any bribe to facilitate the candidate’s selection, as “electronic documents, the CDR, WhatsApp messages, e-mail and other digital documents” have yet to be fully analysed. The CID, however, said that as per KPSC rules, “members should not conduct the interview of their relatives and they should not have contact with candidates”.

Before her plea was rejected, Hosamani argued that interview panels for the KAS selection comprised four members each, and candidates who would appear before each panel were chosen by drawing lots at 9 am on the day of the interview. “There is no possibility to manipulate” the selection of a particular panel for a candidate or vice versa, she claimed.

Final list stayed

The KAS posts are highly coveted because they carry significant administrative powers and are regarded at the state level in the same way that IAS selections through the UPSC are regarded at the national level.

Over 2 lakh aspirants wrote the preliminary exams for the 384 KAS posts (including 74 posts for the Hyderabad-Karnataka region) in 2024. A total of 1,152 candidates (including 222 for the Hyderabad-Karnataka region) were called for the interview round in May this year.

The Karnataka High Court stayed the pronouncement of the final selection list for the 384 KAS posts on July 31, following a plea alleging irregularities. The candidate is among the 74 selected for the KAS posts from the Hyderabad-Karnataka region.