Intensifying the campaign against corrupt officers and officials the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in Jammu and Kashmir registered 87 FIRs in 2024, including 42 cases in the Jammu division and 45 in the Kashmir division, while 32 cases were charge-sheeted in court.
Sharing details of the anti-graft panel’s activities during the year 2024, the ACB spokesperson said that 23 trap cases and 13 cases related to disproportionate assets were registered during the year.
“Corrupt officials have a demoralizing effect on honest public servants, and corruption by public servants has become a gigantic problem”, the spokesperson said, adding, “Large-scale corruption retards nation-building activities, affecting everyone adversely”.
The spokesperson further said that corruption in any society is inversely proportional to good governance, provoking a range of economic and social problems.
“Keeping in view the ‘zero tolerance’ for corruption, the Anti-Corruption Bureau has tightened the noose around corrupt officials”, the spokesperson said.
The statement mentioned 42,521 vigilance clearances were issued through the online Vigilance Clearance Portal in 2024. “The vigilance clearances were sought for purposes such as promotion, regularisation, retirement, and obtaining No Objection Certificates (NoCs) to travel abroad.
16 FIRs registered in connection with Custodian land scam
The statement further noted that 16 FIRs were registered in 2024 in connection with the usurpation of custodian land in Asarwan, Mishriwala, and Bhalwal areas of the Jammu district. The land was allegedly taken over by the land mafia in collusion with officers from the custodian, revenue, and police departments.
To improve the investigation skills of officers of ACB capacity building programme for staff undertaken at CBI Academy Ghaziabad with the tailor-made programme to do a hands-on study of Trap/DA/Abuse of official position.
This will improve the investigation skills of IOs. Internal workshops were held on various topics for better appreciation of evidence in cases.
Complaints received through a mobile app
ACB received various complaints through the Satrak Nagrik Mobile Application, ACB WhatsApp helpline, email, post, by hand, etc. These complaints are then examined at ACB.
This year 2772 cases were sent to District Vigilance Officers (DVOs) and 2434 were disposed off by DVOs. Six DVO conferences three each at Jammu and Srinagar respectively were held this year to review the pendency of matters with DVOs, issues relating to the disposal of DVO matters, and timely submission of information.
During the year 2024, UT Vigilance Awareness Week, National Vigilance Awareness Week, and International Anti-Corruption Day were celebrated throughout UT wherein stakeholders were made aware of Anti-Corruption Laws and Rules regarding transparency and good governance.
Tackling corruption is not just the job of the government and the Anti-Corruption Bureau; individual and collaborative engagement at all levels is required.
It is every citizen’s duty to play their role in exposing and combating corruption within the legal boundaries. Every citizen is a partner in the anti-corruption effort, and their cooperation in reporting instances of demand for bribes and other corruption practices is vital to stamp out the evil of corruption.
The Anti-Corruption Bureau actively seeks and encourages the cooperation of public-spirited citizens to report instances of corruption. Whenever a citizen reports an instance of demand for a bribe, immediate action is taken by organizing a raid on the corrupt official, followed by the registration of a case, arrest, and trial of such official.