A few months ago, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) arrested two people for allegedly offering a bribe of Rs 2 lakh to an assistant police inspector in Sindhudurg district to evade arrest in a cheating case. After the bribe was offered, the inspector immediately registered a complaint with the ACB and a trap was laid to nab the two.
In another case this year, the ACB caught three men for allegedly offering a bribe of Rs 50,000 to the sarpanch of Dahegaon (Rangari) village in Nagpur. They wanted an NOC for a power connection for their new office. The trap was set at a hotel in Sitabuldi, after the sarpanch lodged a complaint, and the accused were caught red-handed.
What is a reverse trap?
Such reverse trap cases, however, are rare, where those offering/giving bribe are caught red-handed based on complaint from the government official concerned. While the ACB has recorded more than 3,000 trap cases in the last five years, where government officials have been arrested for accepting bribe, the number of cases where those giving bribe have been arrested in five years has been 16.
In a reverse trap, the person giving bribe is arrested based on a complaint from the officer concerned under section 12 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (whoever abets any offence punishable under section 7 or section 11 [taking gratification to influence public servant] whether or not that offence is committed in consequence of that abetment, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term not less than six months, which may extend to five years, and shall also be liable to fine).
Why are such cases rare?
The department attributes it to a dearth in honest officers across government agencies. This is coupled with the lackadaisical attitude of government servants to approach the ACB and register a complaint.
A senior ACB officer said, "The honest ones just refuse to take the bribe and do not take the next step of filing a complaint against the person. One of the reasons is lack of awareness among many of them that giving bribe is as serious a crime as accepting it. Officers fear their reputation will be at stake if they take the matter up, or they are afraid they will be under pressure from their seniors."
How is ACB trying to address it?
Director general of ACB Praveen Dixit said, "We have been informing government departments to contact us if somebody approaches them with a bribe. That apart, the trend only puts a question mark on the integrity of officers. If there are more who complain about people offering bribe, it will go a long way in controlling corruption. Our effort is to create awareness at every level."
Lawyerspeak
Officers also feel that in any act of corruption, the giver tries to ensure it is a win-win. City lawyer Abha Singh said, "In the income tax department, if a person has to pay tax of Rs10 lakh, s/he bribes an I-T officer Rs2 lakh and pays Rs2 lakh as tax. So, it's a win-win — the person saves Rs6 lakh and the officer makes an easy Rs2 lakh. The loser is the common man. The situation is the same even in the BMC or customs department. Reverse complaints get registered when, most of the times, the deal doesn't work and, in rare cases, when the officer is honest."
Officerspeak
Elaborating on the question of honesty and integrity, another senior officer from ACB said, "Greed always overtakes morals, principles, integrity, etc. Most officers can be lured with easy money and it is with this knowledge that bribes are offered. People usually do research on the officer before offering him/her bribe and, if somebody has a clean reputation, they do not dare offer him/her bribe."
That apart, in most cases, be it in police, revenue or BMC, the common man is at the receiving end. "As government officials are in a more powerful position, in most cases, they demand bribe to clear files or speed things up. In cases where people lure officers with money, the people involved are rich and powerful and, even if the officer refuses to take the money, s/he does not file a complaint due to fear," said the officer.
Case studies of officers who complained about bribe-givers
Vasant Dhoble
Vasant Dhoble, an assistant commissioner of police with the missing persons bureau, was in the news for conducting late-night raids in pubs across the city when he was with the Social Service Branch. He had laid two reverse traps in 2002 and 2005. In one case, a doctor who was arrested in a medical admission scam allegedly offered Dhoble Rs 2 lakh to settle the case when he was in the crime branch. In another case, a pharmacy owner offered to pay Rs 25,000 to settle a case of kidnapping and attempt to murder involving a woman. This was when Dhoble was in Byculla police station. In both cases, he informed the Anti-Corruption Bureau, which caught them red-handed giving the bribes. "I don't like any kind of interference when I am investigating a case and I cannot let anybody influence my investigations. It is high time government servants come forward and start registering complaints against bribe givers. Surely, in the days to come, if the cases against bribe-givers increase, it is possible to curtail the menace of corruption," said Dhoble.
Sanjiv Kokil
Former senior inspector with the MRA Marg police Sanjiv Kokil, during his tenure, not only got two bribe-givers arrested on two different occasions, but he also went against the then additional commissioner of central region, Arun Kumar Jain, who demanded a bribe of Rs5 lakh from Kokil. In 1996, when Kokil was assistant inspector of EOW, Crime Branch, he had refused a bribe of Rs1 lakh from an accused in a cheating and forgery case. He was offered the money to settle the case. In July 2009, when Kokil was with the MRA Marg police as senior inspector, jewellers Mukesh Kansara, Sunil Goenka and Shashi Goenka were arrested by the ACB for offering him a bribe of Rs10 lakh to drop a case. In 2000, when Jain approached Kokil demanding Rs5 lakh to drop an inquiry against him, he approached the ACB and got the IPS officer arrested."I was shunted in the department because I went against the corrupt and the powerful. False cases were registered against me and I was transferred and, later, removed from the department," said Kokil. Currently retired, he is still facing several departmental inquiries. "Most government servants believe they might as well pocket the money and have a good life rather than complaining as they feel they will not be recognised even if they take a bold step. Because of this, government officials do not come forward with complaints, as they fear pressure from all the ends," he said.
IN NUMBERS
In the last five years...
Traps: 3,106
Arrests: 4,038
Reverse traps: 16
Arrests in reverse traps: less than 35
Number of trap cases in state this year
Mumbai: 74
Amravati: 109
Thane: 126
Nanded: 116
Nagpur: 123
Aurangabad: 137
Pune: 182
Nashik: 186
Top department traps this year
Revenue: 281
Police: 253
MMRDA: 47
Civic bodies: 49
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