Anti-Corruption Bureau is the agency established to protect the corrupt

 


 

Mumbai, September 13, 2021: A report in a Marathi daily, highlights how cases of corruption went up during the second wave of Covid (April-May) though the attendance of officials was 50% and how even after catching the corrupt officials red handed the anti-graft agency of the state is unable to get them prosecuted as the cases fall flat in the background of political will.

To cement their claims, the anti-corruption bureau has revealed certain statistics, which is quite disturbing and bound to shake the faith of common man, who approaches the anti-graft agencies with a lot of hope that he will get some relief from the corrupt government officials.

The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) reveals that 204 officials and staff, who were caught red handed while accepting bribe, are yet to be suspended, while 29 officials, who were convicted on charges of corruption are yet to be dismissed from service.

Further it mentions that proposals to seize property of 13 officials are pending with the state government.

If the state government does not have the political will to book and take action against the corrupt, it is bound to boost their “morale” and they will indulge in such illegal acts with more impunity.

Here, I would also like to share my experience with the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), Navi Mumbai.

Faced with severe “artificially created” water shortage in Kharghar node I filed an online complaint with the Anti-Corruption Bureau (Head Office) against the water department of Cidco on March 9, 2021.  

On the same day I also filed a complaint with the vigilance department of Cidco highlighting how the assistant engineer in Kharghar was acting through his conduit – one contractor named Pradhan to gain monetary gains by artificially creating water shortage so that housing societies perpetually rely on water tanker supply or carry out pipeline work at the cost determined and demanded by the contractor.

I received a call the very next week from the ACB (Navi Mumbai), who asked me to file a written statement. I met Dy SP Jyoti Deshmukh and apprised her of all the illegal things that were taking place within the water department of Cidco. I recorded my statement and also handed over a copy of statement I had drafted.

Frankly, speaking I found the lower rung officials of the ACB had inadequate knowledge of the law to ensure a foolproof case for prosecution of corrupt officials or maybe they were deliberately leaving these loopholes to ensure a safe passage for the corrupt for their own gains.

Till date I have not received any communication from the Anti-Corruption Bureau regarding the status of my case, nor has the vigilance department of Cidco bothered to reply to my complaint and to the RTI filed by me regarding the status of the case. However, my follow up with them will continue till I take the matter to logical end and even if it demands filing a writ in the Bombay High Court in this regard.

The overall point here is that we are having such a sleepy and sloppy system that any common person will think twice before approaching the anti-corruption bureau or vigilance department.

One official from the ACB told me that my complaint will be sent to Cidco’s vigilance department and they will seek a report from them and if there is any grain of truth in it they will proceed with my complaint. Now, this is the biggest irony – the corrupt, will be probed by the corrupt and the report and clean chit will be given by the corrupt. This is where we are going.

I fail to understand why do we need sanction of the department head for prosecuting the corrupt official and why so much protection is given to the corrupt official whereas the common man continues to suffer because of their criminal acts.

I remember as a journalist, I spoke to a few officials, who used to take pride in telling me that they pay “hafta” to the anti-corruption bureau officials and so whenever there is any complaint or there are plans of a trap these officials intimate them earlier and so they can never fall in the ACB net.

If this is the system that we are working on I wonder the direction in which we as a nation are going.

Let’s hope better sense prevails!

 

 

 

 

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