Sting operations quality not sharp enough to nail corrupt officials in Delhi

NEW DELHI: The aam aadmi's sting seems wasted on corrupt babus so far. While about 30 people have acted on the chief minister's advice to secretly record evidence of corruption, the government's Anti-Corruption Bureau says most of these recordings are of such a poor quality that they cannot be a basis for action.

An officer told TOI: "People use mobile phones or other small recording devices. The recordings are not clear and the complainants have not asked incriminating questions. There is not enough concrete evidence in people's sting operations". He said only 10 of the 30 recordings received have been referred for inquiry and even these may not stand legal scrutiny.

"The weak stings only make our work difficult because although the files are piling up, the evidence cannot sustain the complaints for long," said an official.

Sources said the 30 recordings seem to have been made months before the Aam Aadmi Party formed the government in Delhi. Most of them are against municipal corporation officials or policemen. After scrutinizing the recordings, the ACB has sent 10 of them to a forensic laboratory.

Within a week of its launch, the government's anti-corruption helpline has received close to 40,000 calls and the officials are now guiding the callers on properly conducting sting operations.

On Tuesday, the bureau arrested two cops on charges of corruption.