JAIPUR: In a bid to tighten the noose around corrupt officials, the Rajasthan Government has decided to a create a special cell in the personnel department that will closely monitor suspected corrupt and irresponsible officials in the state. This comes a day after two senior Rajasthan Administrative Service (RAS) officials were trapped by Anti-corruption Bureau (ACB) while they were taking huge bribes in return of promised favours.
In recent months, the ACB has been on a massive campaign against corrupt officials in the state at the behest of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. The new cell has also been created on his initiative and the information was conveyed by the CM himself while addressing the collectors of the state via a video conference. CM Gehlot stated that a cell within the department of personnel will be formed “to look into complaints of indiscipline and corruption against government officials and anyone found guilty will be punished severely.”
It may be noted that on Wednesday, the Rajasthan Anti-Corruption Bureau had trapped two senior RAS officials taking bribes of 10 and 5 lakhs each in a single day. The two officials were SDM of Bandikui Pinky Meena and Dausa SDM Pushkar Mittal. According to the ACB, both the SDMs were arrested for demanding bribes from a construction contractor under the Bharat Mata project of laying down the Delhi Mumbai Express Highway. The ACB conducted the action on the basis of a complaint which they received against the two officials who were caught red-handed on Wednesday.
Highly placed sources in the ACB confirmed that several police, administrative and revenue officials in Dausa are under the radar of the bureau. They say that there is strong evidence to suggest that some officials are taking monthly bribes of 2 lakhs each from construction companies under various developmental projects. The ACB is likely to take strong action against some of these officials in the near future.
Meanwhile, the two senior RAS officials trapped by the ACB taking bribes of 5 lakhs each on Wednesday, were presented before a local court in Jaipur today. The two officials have now been sent to judicial custody for 15 days.
In addition, a middleman named Neeraj Meena has also been arrested in this case by the ACB and sent to police custody for two days. The middleman had allegedly demanded a bribe of 38 lakhs on behalf of the Dausa SP. The ACB is conducting more detailed investigations into this shocking case.