'Record-breaking': Kerala Vigilance arrest 60 govt employees for bribery in 2023

Thiruvananthapuram: 60 government employees were arrested by the state vigilance for accepting bribes in 2023. The employees were arrested in 55 trap cases in total. It is a record number of arrests and cases in a single calendar year, ever since the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau came into existence.

17 revenue department employees and 15 employees in local self-government institutions were arrested for accepting bribes. Six health department officials, four cops, and three employees in the registration department were also arrested for misconduct. 

Two employees each from the agriculture, survey, and motor vehicle departments were arrested. One employee each from the tourism, forest, electrical inspectorate, excise, electricity, scheduled caste development, KSRTC, education, and civil supplies departments was also arrested for accepting bribes.

A record number of 1,910 surprise inspections were conducted by the vigilance department in various government offices in 2023.