The Rajasthan’s Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has registered as many as 425 cases this year, but has left with no liquidity (cash) in its ‘Revolving Fund’ (RF) created by the Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot Government to meet the reimbursement request of the complainants who enabled the cops to lay traps for the corrupt employees.
The ACB has written a request letter to the state government for the release of the cash into the RF having a limit of Rs 1 crore at the earliest, ACB Director General B L Soni told SNS while interacting on ACB traps in Rajasthan.
Of the 425 registered cases, 390 alone were of trap or raid conducted by the ACB against the state employees, officers, or cops who were receiving the bribe from the complainants. During the organised live trap, the complainants had to pay bribe from their pockets and after the raids the cash recovered from the venal (bribed/corrupt) persons is deposited in the court during the trials.
The ACB DG said the case under the Prevention of Corruption Act lasts for at least three to five years and earlier, the complainant could not receive the money that he paid to the venal (bribed/corrupt) till the disposal of the case.
On this problem, the state government has announced in its annual budget to create and fill up the revolving fund with a cash of Rs.one crore, he said, adding In the first installment the state government paid Rs.50 lakh under the RF linked with the ACB, but that was used and exhausted in first six months of the year, the DG said.
The basic aim of the RF is to return the bribe money to the complainant on his application after due official formalities and approvals. And when the case is expedited by the Court then the money is received back into the RF, according to the DG.
The cases of bribe money reimbursement are piled up in the state’s ACB offices in all districts. The ACB is also working on a plan on reimbursement of cash on priority and rationing basis to the complainants.