Taking a leap in the speedy redressal of complaints against corrupt government officials, the Vigilance Department is planning to bring flying squads in the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB).
According to sources, the Department after launching its flying squad in Thiruvananthapuram city is now planning to start similar units in other parts of the state, including Kochi.
According to officials, there has been no mechanism to attend to the complaints and grievances of the public given to the VACB Director.
“Whenever a complaint is received at the directorate it is sent to the Range Superintendent of Police concerned for taking action. It would take quite a few weeks to complete the formalities from the directorate to send the information to Range SP and thereby conduct an inquiry on the complaint. By this time the person who gave the complaint or grievance would have lost interest in it,” an official said.
To avoid the delay, the VACB would be launching the flying squad headed by a Circle Inspector. Besides, the team will also have one sub-inspector and three senior civil police officers. The complaints received by the VACB director would be forwarded to the flying squad in the range that would conduct a sudden inquiry.
In cases where there are allegations of higher magnitude, the flying squad would conduct surprise checking and collect evidence from government offices and PSUs. It would send a report to the director regarding the inquiry conducted and action would be taken against the corrupt officials accordingly. The VACB would register case against the officials if found guilty after the inquiry.
“With the introduction of the flying squad in each range the inquiry on the complaint given to the director would be completed in a week. The department will not be recruiting new persons for it. Instead, the squad would be formed with the existing manpower,” the official said.