PUNE: Pune region bears the dubious distinction of recording the highest number of cases registered against government officials for taking bribes during January 1 to May 21, this year.

Statistics from the state's Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) show that of the eight regions in the state including Mumbai, Nagpur, Nashik, Thane, Amravati, Aurangabad and Nanded, Pune tops the list with 92 corruption cases registered. The maximum cases are against government officials caught while accepting bribes.

Pune region includes five districts of Pune, Kolhapur, Satara, Solapur and Sangli. The data shows that corruption cases against government officials in the state have increased from over 400 per year since 2010 to over a 1,000 in 2014 and around 475 during just the first five months of 2015.

A senior official from the anti corruption bureau, Pune, said that Pune region has the highest number of corruption cases registered against public servants, with maximum cases coming from rural areas.

“Complaints are first lodged by citizens, after which traps are laid by ACB unit and then these cases are officially recorded. The highest corruption cases registered in the state have been those against the revenue department. Commercialization and industrialization have grown in Pune region, which also means cash transactions here have gone up. This may be one of the reasons for the increase in corruption cases here,” the official said.

He added that Pune region also has numerous government departments, officials and offices. “In addition, awareness in public about where they could lodge complaints against corrupt public servants has also increased,” he said.

The data shows that public servants caught accepting bribes were from the revenue department, police, municipal corporations, panchayat samitis, among others, and were mostly class III officials.

“After receiving complaints of alleged disproportionate assets owned by the public servant, we undertake a house-search and undertake an inquiry to confirm the complaint,” said Dilip Kadam, additional superintendent of police, ACB, Pune range.

Another state ACB official said that after they receive a complaint of alleged bribe demanded by a government employee, the ACB sleuths lay traps to catch the public servants concerned in the act.

“We receive the maximum complaints from Pune range. Awareness in public has been increasing about how they should not aid corrupt public servants by acceding to their demands. People can lodge complaints using our toll-free helpline (1064) or the bureau's mobile application (acbmaharashtra.net),” he said.

