JAMMU: Ninety senior officers, including one IAS officer, have been implicated in various corruption-related FIRs since 2019 as per according to records from the J&K Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB).
The revelations made in this regard projected a total of 515 corruption registered between 2019 and 2024 in which 89 Kashmir Administrative Service (KAS) officers and one Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer have been found involved, raising serious concerns about the integrity of the Union Territory’s bureaucratic machinery.
This alarming statistic was uncovered in response to a Right to Information (RTI) query that sought to shed light on the number of officers involved in corruption cases during this period. Of over 500 cases registered in five years, only 19 have resulted in convictions so far, raising serious concerns about the efficacy of the Anti-Corruption Bureau’s (ACB) efforts in tackling corruption.
Critics argue that this points to deep-rooted problems within the administration, which continue to erode public trust in governance. The low conviction rate, they claim, underscores the inability of the ACB to effectively bring corrupt officials to justice.
“It’s time for self-introspection in the ACB,” said a former police officer, commenting on the situation. “The overall conviction rate has been very low, which suggests dereliction of duty at all levels and a lack of commitment to the cause.”
The former officer went on to criticise the lack of accountability for the poor performance of the ACB and emphasised the need to fix responsibility for the agency’s inefficiency.
“If the government is serious about taking corrupt officials to task, it must engage the best lawyers to fight these cases. The home department must grant complete freedom to the ACB director to hire top lawyers so that there is no excuse for losing a case due to the quality of legal representation,” he added.
