Sitting amid the blackened remains of his home, 32-year-old Nikesh Gawali carefully broke open a half-melted plastic box with a screwdriver. His hands shook slightly, not out of fear, but out of hope. “I’m trying to find my daughter Aarti’s gold earrings,” he said quietly, still focused on the box. “She’s just five. I got them made recently after months of labour work.” The plastic box, warped and blackened by heat, was one of the few things left from his two-room house on the outskirts of Dhamangaon village . All around him lay ash, broken tin sheets and charred wooden beams. The walls had cracked under the heat and the front room’s tin roof had caved in completely. What remained was a blackened debris all around - almost nothing to suggest a home once stood there. Nikesh earns his living as an agricultural labourer, like many in the village. Work is uncertain and depends on the season. Those earrings weren’t just jewellery - they were a small dream, a reward for his hard work,...
Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), Nagpur Division, drive against corruption netted 58 State Government officials till August this year. Though these are all time high traps by ACB, it also indicates the culture of corruption prevailing in the system. A comparison with ACB traps for the same period of last year shows a jump of 18.96 per cent in corruption cases in the division. Catching nine Class-I officers red-handed while accepting the bribe by ACB this year showcased the corruption in high-ranks.
The data compiled by ACB reveals that 56 corrupt officials were trapped by ACB till August in the year 2020. The number decreased to 47 with - 16.07 per cent for the same period of 2021. In 2022 however the number of successful traps increased by 18.96 per cent with the arrest of 58 corrupt officials till August.
Data of department-wise action of ACB stated that of these 58 corrupt officials arrested this year, 16 were from Revenue Department, followed by eight from Police, six from Rural Development Dept, four from Forest Dept, three each from Land Records Dept, School Education and Sports Dept and Panchayat Samiti, two each from Urban Development Dept - 2, Agriculture Dept and Energy Dept, one each from Municipal Council, Animal Husbandry Dept, Water Conservation Dept, Public Health Dept, State Excise Dept, CAG, Higher and Technical Education Dept and Women and Child Welfare Dept. The Nagpur Division of ACB covers six districts namely Nagpur, Wardha, Gondia, Bhandara, Gadchiroli and Chandrapur.
Commenting on the action, SP ACB, Rakesh Ola told ‘The Hitavada’ that high rate of success in traps showcase the growing confidence among citizens about positive feedback from our side as to dealing with their complaints. The aim of the agency is to stamp out corruption from the delivery system vis-a-vis government offices. Similarly, field officers were directed to stay connected with the people so that the ACB’s goal of reining corrupt Government officials would be achieved, he said.
Lure of easy money often prompts babudom to seek gratification as people one time or other do need to visit the Government office to get their work done. While sometimes citizens avoid lodging the complaint, nowadays increased awareness has led to people willing to stand-up and approach ACB to seek action against corrupt babus and officers.
Said Ola further, ACB reaches out to the common man and extracts vital information about corrupt officials. "We organise meetings of various social groups, distribute pamphlets and have even launched toll free numbers in pursuit of our goal of cracking down on corrupt officials," he said.
After receipt of a complaint against Government officials ACB goes with full force irrespective of the status of individual, citing past instances where one of the important trap reported this year was -- arrest of three top officials of Soil & Water Conservation Department for accepting bribe of Rs 50 lakh from a contractor towards clearing of his pending bills. This happened for the first time when ACB Nagpur seized such a huge amount of cash from the corrupt officials, he said.
Special efforts on to improve conviction rate: Ola
When it comes to conviction rate, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) is found lagging behind in proving the charges against the accused in the court. In the past three years, the conviction rate was under 20 per cent. In 2020 till August, only two accused were convicted and 18 acquitted by the court with 10 per cent conviction rate; In 2021 till August, five accused convicted and 23 acquitted by the court with 17.85 per cent conviction rate; In 2022 till August, three accused were convicted and 24 acquitted by the court with 11.11 per cent conviction rate. SP Rakesh Ola, who served as Judicial Magistrate before donning Khaki said that improving conviction rate was taken as the priority. A special team has been constituted to scrutinise the chargesheets and also ACB officials have been directed to stay in contact with Punch during the trial of the cases. Being an ex-Judicial Magistrate, SP Ola claimed that he was supervising each document of chargesheets to convict the accused in the court. The effect will be seen when this year’s cases come on the board for trial, stated Rakesh Ola, Superintendent of Police, ACB, Nagpur Division.
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