Bengaluru: Home minister Priyank Kharge Saturday said IAS officer Gyanendra Kumar, believed to have gone incommunicado for the past few days, had sought leave due to a family emergency and had travelled to his hometown. The officer has established communication with govt and everything is fine with him, Priyank added.The officer was Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) controller of examinations until March and overseeing vigilance operations during the veterinary officer recruitment examinations held earlier. His allegedly becoming incommunicado drew public attention as it follows recent Enforcement Directorate raids across 21 locations targeting KPSC officials and members over money-laundering allegations linked to the exam process. Further, the state cabinet recently advised the governor to suspend KPSC chairperson Shivashankarappa S Sahukar in connection with corruption charges.Addressing media, Priyank stated: “Kumar hurriedly left Bengaluru and flew to his hometown following a family-related emergency. Since his mobile phone was not reachable, confusion about his absence arose. Everything is fine with him.”Earlier, the minister had said: “We received this information (Kumar going incommunicado) two days ago. But there is no formal complaint from his family, relatives or anybody else so far. He cannot be contacted. We will see what needs to be done. He was last seen at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA). We have got a few clues and are still investigating.”
