Chandigarh, Jan 24 (PTI) Haryana ACB had last year initiated proposals for the attachment of property of public servants involved in corruption cases, officials on Wednesday said.
After obtaining the government’s approval, petitions have been filed for attaching property earned out of proceeds of crime in six cases, which are at an advanced stage, Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) Director General Shatrujeet Kapur said.
During its crusade against corruption in 2023, the ACB has registered 31 inquiries against 12 gazetted officers, 10 non-gazetted officials and seven private persons on the direction of the state government, he added.
Kapur, who is also Haryana’s Director General of Police (DGP), said that 82 inquiries were finalised during the last year.
Out of the 82 inquiries completed during 2023, the ACB has recommended registration of criminal case against 34 gazetted officers, 10 non-gazetted officials and 47 private persons in 14 inquiries. In addition, departmental action has been recommended against 12 gazetted officers and 27 non-gazetted officials in 22 inquiries.
The ACB is committed to intensifying the drive against corruption and all cases of bribery have been dealt with strictly and more crackdowns will follow in the coming days, Kapur said in Panchkula.
In line with the state government’s zero-tolerance policy towards corruption, the ACB has registered a record number of cases related to graft in the previous year which enabled the state government to put a check on the corrupt practices in the government offices, he added.
The ACB registered 205 cases in 2023, Kapur said.
The ACB conducted 152 raids in 2023 and recovered Rs 86,12,300 on the spot and arrested 186 government servants, including 30 gazetted officers, 156 non-gazetted officials and 40 private individuals, during the previous year, he added.
Kapur said that out of the 205 cases, 152 were registered on raid/trap and 53 cases were registered on complaints/inquiries.
On an average, 16 public servants were arrested on corruption charges every month, he added.
Kapur said that the ACB has shifted its focus from junior-level staff to also include senior ranks, who are often the kingpins in running organised corruption rackets.
He said Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has approved various initiatives of the ACB like setting up a revolving fund to provide ‘trap money’ to the aggrieved people lodging complaints against the government officials demanding bribes.
With this, the complainants no longer have to worry about arranging the trap money from their own pockets, he added.
The government has also sanctioned 809 additional posts to strengthen the ACB, changed the system of appointment of independent witnesses to check leakage of information and created six divisional anti-corruption bureaus among others.
