Aurangabad: ACB bans cellphones during work

AURANGABAD: The anti-corruption bureau (ACB) staffers have been restricted from using their cellular phones during office hours in order to rule out the possibility of information leakage about schedule raids or traps.
Also, to ensure there is no communication gap, in case of any emergency, the staffers have been asked to share the office landline numbers with their family and close contacts.
Aurangabad is one of the eight units of state ACB, having jurisdiction over Aurangabad, Jalna, Beed and Osmanabad districts. The decision has been taken by the newly-appointed superintendent of police (ACB) Arvind Chawria.
When contacted, Chawria said, “The decision has been taken in larger interest of the society as well as to ensure effective and swift action on complaints received.”
He added, “The decision does not mean that we do not trust our staffers, but it is for being doubly sure about the success of our traps and raids.”
As per directives, all lower and mid-level staffers have been asked to daily deposit their cellphones at the locker soon after entering the ACB office premises at 10am and collect it only while heading home.
An officer privy to the decision said, “As on date, the total number of complaints and applications reaching the Aurangabad unit of ACB is negligible. This forced us to ponder over reasons that are keeping the complainants at bay.”
Echoing similar views, another officer said the complainants are not reaching out to the ACB means that they may not have faith in us. “A decision has been taken to restore faith in the institution,” said another officer of deputy superintendent of police rank.
Highly-placed sources informed that this is not the only decision that Chawria has taken for ensuring required amount of secrecy, transparency in overall process, increasing number of traps and conviction rate.
Over 50% of the staff that was posted with the ACB beyond the stipulated tenure has been sent back to the police department, while protocol has been specified to the officers so that there is no jumping of guns.
In addition to this, Chawria has even made his as well as other senior ACB officers cellphone numbers public, so that the complainants, without any hesitation of fear, may directly reach out to them.
To rule out slightest possibility of the information getting leaked, it has also been decided that teams for carrying out raids would be personally finalized by the SP at the last moment.