Anti-Corruption Bureau goes hi-tech………Sunil Mungara
HYDERABAD: Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has hit the high-tech path to fix corrupt officials. It has started using hidden cameras to nail the corrupt.
“We will use spy cameras to record evidence. Often, the official/person who demands bribe from the complainant denies the allegation when confronted. Then, we show the footage to nail the lie,” ACB director Santosh Mehra told TOI. ACB personnel had used hidden cameras for the first time on an experimental basis in Saroornagar assistant commissioner of police (ACP) L K Shinde trap case. The ACP was caught on tape taking Rs 50,000 bribe from a person to favour him in an SC/ST Atrocities Case on December 20, 2009. “We succeeded in our first operation,” the ACB officer said.
The government has sanctioned Rs 25 lakh when ACB moved a proposal to purchase high-end equipment, including spy cameras. Accordingly, the ACB purchased 25 spy cams recently, he added. “We explain to them (complainants) on how to use the camera and the position (angle) to carry out a sting operation,” he replied.
The ACB is examining a proposal to give informants one to two per cent incentive of the total value of disproportionate assets seized during searches/raids, he said. Already, Maharashtra has been giving incentives between one and two per cent (based on the case) to the informant. In this connection, the ACB has got a GO copy from the Maharashtra government. “It is under active consideration. The ACB is also taking opinion of legal experts on the issue,” Santosh Mehra said.
The ACB reimbursed an amount of Rs 54.16 lakh (bribe paid during trap cases) between April and December, 2009 to complainants. “We are reimbursing the amount to the complainant within one month from the date of trap. The complainant’s statement will be recorded at the time of trap on the amount given to the corrupt official/person to avoid problems during reimbursement. The government has sanctioned amount for reimbursement as part of budget allocation. The number of traps increased after the reimbursement scheme was launched,” the official added.
The ACB would soon receive complaints through mobile phone: 9493449999 apart from landline numbers: 040-24740196 to 199. The mobile phone services would be launched within 15 days, the officer said.
The ACB was awaiting clearance from the High Court to conduct searches on the All-India Services (AIS) officials—IAS, IPS and IFS—in the state. In 1996, the High Court had issued a interim order, but the final order has not yet been issued, the official replied.