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Chandigarh, India, May 29, 2023 - The Punjab government's 'anti-corruption action line' has received close to 8,000 complaints since March 2022, an official statement said on Sunday.

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann launched the helpline number in March 2022 that allows people to upload video/audio proof of officials asking for bribes or indulging in malpractices.

The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB), in its relentless pursuit of eradicating corruption, has made remarkable progress in its recent anti-corruption campaign, said an official statement.

"From March 23, 2022, to the present date, the chief minister's anti-corruption action line (ACAL) has received a staggering 7,939 complaints accompanied by necessary evidence, signifying the unwavering commitment of the Punjab government to promote transparency and accountability in public administration," said the statement issued here.

A spokesperson of the bureau said it is fully dedicated to its mission of eradicating corruption and encourages citizens to continue utilising the ACAL to report any instances of corruption they encounter.

"On this citizen-centric artificial intelligence-enabled platform, any person could file complaints 24x7 along with relevant audio and video recording regarding demand of illegal gratification," he added.

The spokesperson said to ensure an efficient process, an 'automatic bot' had been installed on the web portal to filter out frivolous entries, spam, junk posts and unrelated to corruption.

"As a result, out of a total of 4,02,133 entries, 3,90,050 entries were identified as irrelevant or classified as junk posts and non-corruption-related matters which were duly rejected.

"This initiative aims to optimise resources and focus solely on actionable complaints that contribute to combating corruption effectively," he said.

Providing additional details, he further explained that out of the remaining 12,083 complaints/entries, a thorough evaluation revealed that 4,144 complaints were further found to be extraneous and unrelated to corruption.

The spokesperson said among the actionable complaints, the VB handled a total of 7,939 complaints accompanied by audio/video recordings to substantiate the claims made by the complainants.

"These complaints underwent meticulous analysis, and 3,401 of them were found to be related to other departments. Consequently, these complaints were forwarded to the respective departments for their consideration and appropriate action," he said.

The 394 complaints, supported by audio/video recording evidence, which were directly related to corruption allegations, were forwarded to the concerned Senior Superintendents of Police (SSPs) in the VB ranges for a thorough investigation.

"As a result of rigorous examinations, a commendable milestone has been achieved, with a total of 88 First Information Reports (FIRs) registered based on the outcomes of the investigations conducted thus far," said the spokesperson.

He said these investigations have resulted in the arrest of 132 accused individuals involved in various bribery cases, including 40 police personnel.

Since the commencement of this ongoing anti-corruption campaign in April 2022, the VB has successfully apprehended a total of 359 accused individuals accepting gratification in 298 different corruption cases throughout the state.

In addition, 152 vigilance inquiries have been registered for a comprehensive investigation, and 99 departmental inquiries have been initiated, he said.

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Posted by Veronica Silva Cusi, news correspondent
Source: https://www.business-standard.com