14400 to end graft of officials a big hit: ACB 

VIJAYAWADA: Stating that the tollfree number 14400 is yielding good results with common public coming forward to lodge complaints against corruption among government employees through it, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Wednesday said 14 traps were laid, one disproportionate assets case and five criminal misconduct cases were registered against government employees in 2020 based on the complaints received through the number.

Releasing the annual year end performance report, the ACB said, “The toll free number was successful and people at large are using the facility to lodge complaints against corrupt officials. The Bureau is taking immediate action on the complaints received through 14400 on a top priority.’’

Based on the complaints received through the toll free number, 50 regular enquiries were taken up and 61 surprise checks (13 on sub-registrar offices, 21 on tahsildar offices, 14 on town and country planning department and 13 on area hospitals) were conducted by the ACB.

The ACB said to popularise the 14400 among the general public, short films were made featuring  badminton star PV Sindhu, the brand ambassador. “The short films are being played in news channels, railway stations and bus stations,’’ the ACB said.

“With the impact of the toll free number, the corrupt officials are getting scared and many people are getting their pending work done by just mentioning the toll free number,’’ the ACB claimed,  adding that the corrupt activities of officials have reduced since the introduction of the tollfree number.