Amid surge in complaints, ACB seeks 50% increase in personnel

The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has requested close to 50% increase in its personnel amid a surge in the searches and checks by the department.

The department, which has about 280 officials, requested increasing the manpower to 550 in a proposal sent to the Government of Telangana recently, former Director-General C.V. Anand told media persons on his last day in the ACB office in Banjara Hills.

“The influx of complaints reported to the ACB this year can be attributed to the faith citizens now have in the department. This in turn has significantly increased the workload on the department with focus on traps, surprise checks and regular inquiries alongside cases of disproportionate assets,” Mr. Anand explained.  

This comes at a time when the department has registered 145 cases between January and August and arrested 109 individuals, including 85 government officials. This is just 10% of the complaints received by the department during the eight-month period, the former officer noted.

Explaining the numbers, he said that in most cases, the complainants report the cases after they have paid their “first instalment” and are further harassed for bribes. Strong evidence is the key factor for registering ACB cases and with the new laws coming in, the need for video documentation and substantial proof of corruption is crucial to begin investigation, the official added.

The top departments in radar this year included Revenue (30 cases); Municipal administration and the Home department (21), which includes the State police, data shared by the department showed.  

The low conviction rate, however, remains a concern for the department, the official said. The ACB reported a conviction rate of 55.5% in the eight months of 2024, with 10 convictions and eight acquittals.

According to Mr. Anand, the goal is to reach a conviction rate of about 70% by the end of this year. As per information shared by the department, 980 cases are pending trials while 105 are under investigation. 

This year, final reports of 103 cases have been sent to the government, following which charge sheets will be filed on 280 individuals involved in these cases. Prosecution sanction orders have been received from the government in 72 cases, involving 86 individuals as of August 31, 2024.