Making it difficult for corrupt officials of the State Government, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has intensified the drive against them with 112 successful traps in merely 230 days, highest in the last 16 years. Four persons were arrested on Wednesday by ACB, including a doctor from Bhawnathpur community health centre while taking a bribe of Rs 5,000.
“We have successfully executed four trapping cases in Palamu, Garhwa, Bokaro and Dumka, including Medical Officer-in-charge Dr Ashutosh Kumar Singh posted at Bhawnathpur community health centre who was caught red handed taking a bribe of Rs 5000 in lieu of providing injury investigation report of complainant Shankar Paswan required for a case registered at Kharaundi police station,” said ACB SP Manoj Kumar Singh. Other three persons arrested include Skilled labourer Prakash Singh posted at Dumka electricity division, MGNREGA Junior Engineer Rajiv Kumar Ranjan posted at Nagar Utari block in Garhwa and Court Clerk ‘Peshkar’ Dilip Kumar Shah posted at the SDO court in Chas in Bokaro, he added.
“All of them were arrested red handed taking bribes from the complainants. Prakash Singh was taking a bribe of Rs 5,000 to install a meter in the house of the complainant, while the Junior Engineer was taking bribe of Rs 2,000 in lieu of preparing MV book for the work order granted to the complainant Alimuddin Ansari for the construction of a cowshed. Peshkar Dilip Kumar Shah was also caught taking a bribe of Rs 10,000 from the complainant Ajay Kumar Mahtha in the name of getting the judgment in his favour,” said the SP.
Singh, giving credit to the six Divisional Offices established in Hazaribagh, Dhanbad, Palamu, Ranchi, Jamshedpur and Dumka, said that it helped them a lot to reach out to the people and making it possible for them also to lodge complaints there only.
“Earlier, they had to travel all the way to the ACB headquarters in Ranchi to lodge a complaint against corrupt officials,” he added. Increased number of traps has also instilled a sense of confidence among the people due to which they have now started registering their complaints with ACB, he added.
“Complaints against senior officials like Block Development Officers and Medical Officers have also started coming to us which indicates that we are moving in a positive direction which in the long run will work as a deterrent against corruption in the State,” said the SP. Efforts are being made by the ACB to follow the trapping cases till conviction by strengthening the prosecution process through one Public Prosecutor and 4 Additional Public Prosecutors in the Court, he added.