THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In what could be construed as a rise in corruption among civil servants, the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau has arrested 23 government employees in 21 trap cases so far this year while they were receiving bribes.
The arrests were made during ‘Operation Spot Trap’, which was launched to tackle corruption among public servants by catching them red-handed. Four agents employed by the corrupt government employees to act as middlemen and also to collect kickbacks on their behalf were also arrested.
As many as 34 cases were registered in 2024, while 21 cases have been registered in three months this year, said a Vigilance source.
According to the source, if the trend continues this way, the department will see a record increase in trap cases. “This is a positive thing as the increase in trap cases shows that the department is doing its job efficiently. However, the sad aspect is that the rise in number of arrests shows there are still people, who abuse their position in return for some benefits,” the source said.
As per the Vigilance data, the most number of tainted officers arrested were from the revenue department (12),followed by police (4). One officer each was arrested from the motor vehicles department, Kerala Water Authority, health, survey, local self-government, registration departments and petroleum corporation.
The most number of cases were registered in Ernakulam district (6), followed by Malappuram (3), Thrissur (3), Thiruvananthapuram (2), Kottayam (2) and Kozhikode, Idukki, Alappuzha, Kollam and Wayanad (1 each). Last year, as many as 39 public servants were arrested for taking bribes.
The Vigilance ramped up its trap operations after Yogesh Gupta was appointed as the director. A senior Vigilance officer said the public has become more aware of the corruption menace and the need to tackle it.
“People are now giving tip-offs while coming across corrupt officials. They know that this practice is harming them more. The tainted officials are also aware of the change in scenario and many are deploying innovative ways to receive bribes without getting caught,” said the officer.
In Kottayam, a police officer was trapped while receiving a bottle of liquor, while another cop and his agent were arrested from Idukki for receiving kickback on a payment app.