Home Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan on Monday said that the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) would not register cases on the basis of unfounded allegations and anonymous petitions.
Inaugurating the anti-corruption unit’s newly installed toll-free helpline (8592900900) to enable the public to report corruption in real time, Mr. Radhakrishnan said he would not allow anybody to use the VACB as a tool to defame and denigrate detractors. He said VACB would continue to verify the veracity of allegations and complaints, irrespective of the source from which they emanate and without being judgemental. Some quarters accused the agency of being a government arm to “trap” political opponents. They should stop the refrain that the VACB did hatchet jobs for those in power. Efforts were on to reduce the pendency of cases, he said.
Mr. Radhakrishnan urged various government departments to strengthen their internal vigilance mechanisms. The VACB should ideally be a higher agency which looked into cases of corruption referred to it by such units. It should focus on detecting hoarders and others who steal from the public exchequer.
State Police Chief K.S. Balasubramanian described corruption as a malignancy that affected society. Director General of Police Mahesh Kumar Singhla, Additional Director General of Police R. Sreerekha and Deputy Director of Prosecution G. Sasindran were present.
