THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The VACB has registered 818 corruption-related cases in the state over the past five years, officials said on Saturday.
The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau said in a statement that it recorded significant achievements in its anti-corruption campaign during this period by strengthening surveillance, adopting advanced technology and enhancing public participation.
The statement said that out of 818 registered cases, 232 were trap cases in which officials were caught red-handed while accepting bribes, the highest percentage ever in the history of the office.
“In 2025 alone, 57 entrapment cases were registered, the highest annual number. In one of the biggest busts, a panchayat supervisor was caught accepting bribe from $“15 thousand,” the statement said.
In addition, 421 vigilance investigations, 1,847 preliminary investigations and 547 covert verifications have been conducted over the past five years, the VACB said.
It added that as many as 11,294 spot inspections and 106 spot checks were conducted nationwide, and action was taken on 67,165 complaints.
During the period, the state’s vigilance courts decided 136 cases, resulting in the conviction of 227 accused.
To address this attachment, a new vigilance court has been set up in Kollam, and cases from Kollam and Pathanamthitta districts have been transferred from the Thiruvananthapuram court to speed up trial proceedings, the VACB said.
According to the office, operations have been intensified to ensure the provision of public services and benefits without corruption, and to make use of digital tools and scientific investigation methods.
As part of the digital transformation, a state-of-the-art cyber forensics laboratory has been established at the Vigilance Headquarters to enable scientific analysis of evidence and real-time cyber investigations.
The office has also developed the Crime and Investigation Management Service portal in line with the government’s paperless governance policy, and the process of digitizing all case files is in its final stage.
“Based on complaints received from the public and subsequent confidential checks, the Vigilance Organization has prepared a list of around 700 government officials allegedly involved in frequent corruption practices and has placed them under close surveillance,” the statement said.
To make anti-corruption mechanisms more convenient for citizens, the office launched a toll-free number and a system for registering complaints via WhatsApp.
“An AI-based citizen-centric complaint management system is under development, which will enable complainants to track the status of their cases in real time,” the VACB said.
VACB Director Manoj Abraham said additional administrative posts have been created to strengthen the agency’s human resources.
“In a first for the Bureau, 80 officers have been deputed for training at the CBI Academy. Five regional training centers have also been established across vigilance ranges to ensure continuous professional development,” he said in the statement.
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