'Don't allure officers by paying bribe'

Appeals Lokayukta Justice Shivaraj V Patil to masses, admits eradicating corruption is not an easy task

Appeals Lokayukta Justice Shivaraj V Patil to masses, admits eradicating corruption is not an easy tasku00a0

In a bid to be different from his predecessors, the new Lokayukta Justice Shivaraj V Patil is planning to reach out to the masses with an appeal not to bribe authorities. He said corruption is extremely deep-rooted and eradication would be no easy task. He added that both collecting bribes as well as bribing are crimes since it allures the authorities.

Patil said that the officials in the ombudsman were chalking out a plan of action and he would come up with the details shortly. There are two Upa-Lokayuktas, and the state is divided as north zone and south zone to mark their jurisdiction, and Patil said Upa-Lokayuktas would be roped in for the mission and the awareness programmes would be conducted at village level.

New approach
While his predecessors Justice N Venaktachala and Justice N Santhosh Hegde made headlines by conducting persistent raids and laying traps to nab corrupt officials, Patil said he would concentrate on improving
the conviction rate of the cases.

"There is no point in booking cases if we can't take them to a logical end. While nailing the corrupt, my priority is to bring them punishment. I stress upon conviction and so my approach is from the other side," he said.
Although the Lokayukta made its presence felt through surprise visits and traps when Venaktachala was in office, the conviction rate was poor and barely touched two percent. This however improved when Hegde took charge in 2006, but it remains far below at 25 percent.

Self-made
Patil said by speeding up the procedural system apart from improving the efficiency of the investigative staff, the conviction rate could be improved. While the media is carrying reports about multiple graft-case-accused former chief minister Yeddyurappa arm-twisting the Lokayukta, including reports that Patil is being seen as his man, the latter sought to clarify that it was all hearsay.

Regarding reports about Pranab Mohanty, who was deputy inspector general of police in the Lokayukta, being sent to the parent police department at the behest of Yeddyurappa, Patil said Mohanty was an eminent officer and his service was needed in the police department.