Andhra developing anti-corruption app on lines of EC

Amaravati, April 20:  Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has directed the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to come up with an app in line with the CVIGIL app maintained by the Election Commission.

Chairing a review meeting of the Home Department on Wednesday, the chief minister set a deadline of four weeks for developing the app to curb the corruption menace.

"The state home department should focus mainly on four wings in the state to maintain the law & order situation -- ACB, DISHA, Special Enforcement Bureau (SEB) and increase in social media drives across state," said the chief minister.

The proposed app will allow the complainants to record audio and video of the corruption activity directly on the app and report the same.

To verify the complaints raised, especially the audio and videos recorded, the chief minister directed officials to strengthen the forensic labs. This will curb all the hiccups in the case by providing substantial evidence and aiding in making a case stronger for conviction, he opined.

The chief minister said that if corruption is reported in any department, it has to be directed to ACB and they would be heading the investigation. As of now, no corruption has been reported in any department and the Chief Minister has said no corruption cases should be reported henceforth as well.

The chief minister also mooted setting up one ACB police station at each mandal so that the complaints raised on the app can be directed to the respective police stations to initiate action.

The police stations will have a multi-function approach where corruption cases or related to ACB, DISHA and daily law order cases can be addressed.

In addition, a designated ASP will also be stationed in these mandals, who will report directly to the ACB, officials said.

"By setting up ACB, DISHA police stations at mandal level, it will send out a strong and vibrant message to the people that the government is focused on curbing corruption and crime against women," the chief minister noted.