Delhi anti corruption helpline flooded with calls

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said that the anti corruption helpline number has registered 3,904 cases in the first day itself some of which have already been solved.

"We registered 3,904 till 3p.m today out of which 842 were attended. We received 200 calls in the first hour itself. Some of the stings have already been conducted and teams are already there," said Kejriwal.

"I cannot give details as it will compromise the operations. Out of the 842 cases, 53 are serious cases but not all of the complainants have agreed to conduct stings. About 15 people refused to do it," he said.

"I want to congratulate Delhi people for conducting such good quality stings. Most are of audio quality. I must say that Delhi people are very good anti corruption inspectors and sting journalists," he added.

"The four digit anti-corruption number will be activated from tomorrow and we have made sure that it is an easy number for the convenience of the public," he said.

He further said that a minister will be appointed solely for the purpose of addressing the issues of those who are not able to conduct stings or have some other issues related to the government which come under public grievances.

"Public grievances are symptoms, but the disease is something else. Somewhere we ourselves have made some wrong policies which are adversely impacting the public," said Kejriwal.

"We have made a system to address public grievances. Every Saturday, all the ministers including the Chief Minister will sit infront of the central secretariat and address to the issues of the people," he said.

"We will divide the grievance into categories. One minister will be appointed for sitting there permanently to forward the issues of the people to the relevant departments," he added.

Kejriwal had announced an anti corruption helpline number for residents of Delhi to report any incident of corruption in the city on Wednesday.

Addressing the press, Kejriwal had said: "This is an advisory number that will explain you the way to hold a sting. But you cannot complain on this number. The helpline number is 011-27357169, which will be active from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m."

"I appeal to the people of Delhi that we need to eradicate corruption together. If somebody asks you for a bribe then record the proceedings it and bring it to anti-corruption department," he said.

"The idea is to create fear among the people who are involved in corrupt practices. There will be hoardings and advertisements regarding the same. Several teams of the police have been put on standby if there is sudden surge in the number of complaints," he added.

"There is no need of a camera, audio recording will also do. Let the sting be the first evidence, and then our team will lead afterwards. But the first evidence will be the sting," he said.

After taking oath as the Chief Minister of Delhi on December 28, Kejriwal had announced that a helpline number will be provided to the residents to report the cases of corruption.