The cases registered by the Anti Corruption Bureau has increased from an average of 100 cases in the last four years to 145 in just eight months in 2024, under the charge of senior IPS officer CV Anand, who is now transferred and posted as Hyderabad Commissioner of Police. Anand preferred to go ahead with “trap” cases to avoid any conflict with socio, economic, and political biases.
Mr.Anand shared his experience in curbing corruption. One of the important measures he initiated was to prevent leaks within the department to further increase transparency and accountability of the ACB.
Anand also noted that in the past eight months, the government sanctioned prosecution orders against 86 persons involved in 72 cases. Observing that this is a very high statistic, the top officer said, “We have been personally pursuing the prosecution orders. I went to the Secretariat and also wrote to the concerned departments seeking permission to issue prosecution orders.”
Of the 145 cases registered by the ACB in 2024, 109 persons were arrested. Most of the arrested persons are government employees and more than 30 officers were from the revenue department, Anand also took action against corrupt cops.
Attributing the toll-free number 1,064 as the lifeline of the ACB, the officer said that the wing received over 1,450 complaints in a span of just eight months. As the wing started receiving a lot of complaints, he sent a proposal to the government requesting more resources to strengthen the ACB. “We have over 280 personnel working in the ACB now. I have sent a proposal to increase the personnel to 550. I have also asked for more vehicles for the wing,” he said.
Each case requires a thorough investigation and sufficient evidence for the accused officer to be held, Anand said. “We need proper audio and video evidence to prove a case. Sometimes, the accused person might use visual indications to communicate with the complainant about the bribe. But we need verbal documentation to show that the officer is asking for a bribe to perform his official duty,” the cop noted. In other instances, there is no direct evidence that a government officer is involved in corruption, for instance, in Dharani or layout fraud.
“But the ACB would still book cases against them if we find that the officer has violated the rules and regulations. Unlike traps, these cases are for criminal misconduct,” Anand elaborated.
The conviction rate in ACB cases thus far in 2024 is 55.55 per cent and Anand said efforts are to be made to improve the conviction rate to 70 per cent.
