Vigilance director Jacob Thomas bares officials' tricks before CM

Thiruvananthapuram: Vigilance director Jacob Thomas has apprised Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of the inordinate delay in the movement of crucial files related to Vigilance cases in the secretariat.

In a report submitted to the chief minister, the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau chief pointed out that crucial files related to corruption cases were being held up for months together at the behest of politically-affiliated secretariat union leaders.

There were complaints about files being kept in cold storage and their slow movement and attempts to either delay or scuttle the probe. Now, the Vigilance has received the green signal from the top to act against those  who try to prevent the Vigilance officials from discharging their duties and  responsibilities.

Some of the accused  rarely get into the Vigilance net and escape  by using their political influence and connections. Many a time, the officials are not even communicating to the complainants the reasons behind the delay in the file movement. Interestingly, files which are of high interest to the officials get cleared within days while others are caught in red-tapism for years.

Now the Vigilance department has initiated a process to collect detailed information about the pending files. Sources said the chief minister was supporting the Vigilance move.  

Meanwhile, the VACB is awaiting prosecution clearance to proceed against about 60 officers. “We will be able to file the chargesheet only after getting the government’s nod,” said an official.