64 Assam govt officials held for bribery since May 2021

Guwahati: The directorate of vigilance and anti-corruption (D&VAC) has arrested 64 government employees, including a few gazetted officers, on charges of bribery since May 10 last year. More than Rs 70 lakh has been seized from their possession.
This is in keeping with chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s zero tolerance policy towards corruption.
D&VAC IGP Surendra Kumar told TOI, “There are clear instructions from the chief minister to adopt zero tolerance for corruption. We receive complaints through various sources such as the social media, dedicated Whatsapp number, phone number and e-mail around-the-clock. We have been successful in catching many government employees red-handed while accepting bribes.”
Of the more than Rs 70 lakh recovered from the possession of the arrested government officials to date, about Rs 60 lakh was seized this year, he added.
The IGP further said apart from arresting the government employees in bribe cases, the directorate has also laid emphasis on disposal of the cases. “The rate of our filing of charge sheets in bribery cases during the period from May 10 last year to date is more than 95%. This implies the directorate’s relentless fight against corruption,” he added.
According to data received from the directorate, altogether 130 government employees were arrested in bribery cases from 2017 to date. Out of them, sixty-seven were arrested during the time of the then chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal from May 2016 to May 2021 and the remaining 63 were arrested after Himanta Biswa Sarma took over as CM of the state last year. Kumar said the action of the directorate has instilled confidence in the people of the state and restored their faith in the police department.