IAC wants to work with ACB to fight corruption

Updated on: 23 September,2011 08:12 AM IST |
A Correspondent |

Alarmed after receiving almost 40 calls from citizens claiming they had been asked bribes at several government offices, the city chapter of India Against Corruption (IAC) has expressed its intention to work closely with the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB)to catch the culprits

Alarmedu00a0after receiving almost 40 calls from citizens claiming they had been asked bribes at several government offices, the city chapter of India Against Corruption (IAC) has expressed its intention to work closely with the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB)to catch the culprits.

Deepak Bharadia, a senior member of IAC, said the members of IAC will be meeting the ACB Superintendent in the city to express their desire to work closely with the agency. "ACB's principal job is to curb graft and we want to do teamwork with it as people fear approaching a government body like the ACB," Bhardia said.
IAC volunteers said it had been observed that citizens rarely approach the ACB upon encountering instances of graft at overnment offices and said they wanted to change this.

"Common citizens do not feel that their cases will be sorted out by the Anti-Corruption Bureau. In most of the cases, people fear that if they lodge a complaint against a corrupt officer they will be unnecessarily entangled in lengthy legal procedures. We want to change this perception and appeal to citizens to come forward to lodge formal complaint against corrupt officers," B B Somani, city chapter convener, said. Somani added that the IAC had no legal authority to take up cases, which is why it intended to work with the ACB and hoped the agency would support the initiative.