category Regional, chandigarh, , tags Regional, chandigarh, , DW BUREAU Chandigarh The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) continued its steadfast efforts to combat corruption within the State, by arresting 288 government officers officials and private persons in different total 251 trap cases, criminal cases and disproportionate assets cases registered across in the current year up to December 26, 2023. Notably, among those involved, 66 police personnel and 44 revenue officers officials were apprehended. Moreover, 7 political leaders and 70 government officers officials were booked in these cases. Additionally, an amount of Rs 59,57,000 was recovered during this period in different 133 trap cases. Disclosing this here on Wednesday, an official spokesperson of the VB said the Bureau has adopted a multi-facet approach to corner the bribe seekers and to generate awareness among the public. All the officers officials of the VB during the year relentlessly worked and emphasized on the Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann led government s resolute commitment to eradicate the corruption and corrupt practices among public servants and others in all sectors. Giving more details about the performance of the VB, he informed that during the ongoing campaign against corruption in the state, the Bureau has registered 103 criminal cases and 15 disproportionate assets cases. Within this period, special courts have decided 33 cases filed and contested by the VB, resulting in the conviction and sentencing of 43 officials. The VB has filed challans related to 181 vigilance cases across various courts during this period. Furthermore, 82 vigilance enquiries have also been initiated to conduct thorough investigations into corruption-related cases. Revealing cumulative achievements of the Chief Minister Anti-corruption Action Line since its inception on 23-03-2022 by CM Bhagwant Mann, 11,074 complaints with audio-video recordings were received in the Bureau till 26-12-2023. Out of which 5740 complaints were forwarded to other concerned departments and 630 complaints to various VB ranges to probe into and take actions accordingly. After thorough investigations by the VB ranges, 151 accused were arrested bailed out in 124 FIRs registered so far. (editor dailyworld.in)