Surge in cases of corruption against public servants, over 2,000 officials booked in 3 years

The number of public servants, including bureaucrats and police officers, being booked by the CBI has reached a staggering 2,000 in the last three years with a surge of 44 per cent has been recorded in cases involving such officials, registered by the premier anti-corruption agency, shows data shared by the ministry of home affairs. The CBI has booked over 2,000 public servants in the last three years. In 2020, a total of 608 officials and police officers were booked in different cases of corruption but this figure witnessed a marginal dip to 582 in 2021. But, in 2022, a total of 844 public servants were booked from the Centre, states and union territories, News18 quoted the data of MHA as saying. The data reveals a concerning trend: numerous senior officers are currently facing allegations of corruption. Even more noteworthy is the increasing number of public servants entangled in legal cases, despite the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) experiencing prosecution sanctions in nine states. Several states, including Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Kerala, Mizoram, Punjab, Rajasthan, Telangana, and West Bengal, have withdrawn their general consent to the CBI for probing cases, with these states being ruled by opposition parties. Recently, CBI arrested four people, including three officials from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, in a case of corruption and bribery on Saturday. The central agency also seized Rs 60 lakh in cash from the accused. The conviction rate has become a prominent topic of discussion in political circles, especially in the wake of the “CBI versus CBI” controversy. Interestingly, after experiencing a dip, the conviction rate saw a surge in 2022, nearing a commendable 75 per cent. This was a significant improvement compared to the period from 2018 to 2021, where the conviction rate hadn’t even touched 70 per cent. Recently, the CBI filed a First Information Report (FIR) in a disturbing case of alleged sexual assault in Manipur’s Thoubal district. The incident involved the harrowing mistreatment of two women, who were stripped and paraded naked. A video capturing this deplorable act, apparently recorded on May 4, went viral, leading to widespread outrage across the nation. The CBI has registered a case for murder, gang rape, outraging modesty and criminal assault, under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and IT Act. After the MHA transferred the Manipur video case, the central agency registered the case and filed an affidavit before the Supreme Court on the ethnic violence in the northeastern state that began on May 3.