Making earnest efforts in fighting corruption through enforcement, education and prevention, the Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) witnessed 100 per cent increase in trap cases of corrupt public servants in the year 2013.
Attributing it to its toll free number and facility to lodge online complaints, or setting up of Internal Vigilance Cell, its awareness campaigns, inducting well-educated officers, besides bringing modernisation in its working, the State vigilance bureau has achieved great success in the bygone year. “A platform was provided to the public in preventing corruption by providing facility to report on the toll free number — 1800-1800-1000, and online complaints facility on the website — vigilancebureaupunjab.org — which have received numerous complaints on corruption from various quarters,” said a VB spokesperson.
To publicise the toll-free number and bring awareness in the public for reporting corruption, a poster campaign was also conducted many times during the year, he said, adding that every month, field units conduct public meetings at district level with various stakeholders to bring awareness on the provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act and facilities available in reporting complaints of corruption with the Vigilance Bureau. Spokesperson, giving details of its work from January 1, 2013 to December 30, 2013, said that during 2013, there is 100 per cent increase in trap cases of corrupt public servants.
“In order to encourage public to come forward and approach the Vigilance Bureau to trap corrupt public servants red-handed with trap money or bribe, the State Government has accepted the proposal of Vigilance Bureau for refund of trap money to the complainant on case to case basis,” he added. As per the data provided, in 2013, a total of 115 cases of trap, criminal and Disproportionate Assets (DA) have been registered under the PC Act, 1988, out of which 87 cases of trap were registered involving 17 gazetted officers (GOs), 70 Non-Gazetted officers (NGOs), and nine private persons.
Besides, 29 criminal cases have been registered against nine GOs, 43 NGOs, and 23 private persons, while nine cases of DA were registered against two GOs, seven NGOs. A total of 80 vigilance enquires were registered against 49 gazetted public servants, 71 non-gazetted public servants and 27 private persons in 2013, against 31 against 13 GOs, 22 NGOs, and 10 private persons.
Around 4,000 complaints have been received against public servants in the Vigilance Bureau, with the maximum at the Bureau’s Patiala Range having 867 complaints, followed by Amritsar and Jalandhar with 847 and 673 complaints respectively. The spokesperson added that for the first time, the concept of inspection of Police Station or unit on the pattern of Police department by a gazetted officer twice in a year has been introduced in the Bureau.