According to media reports, the personal secretaries of three Uttar Pradesh ministers including Archana Tripathi, Sandeep Singh and OP Rajbhar have been arrested on charges of bribery and for allegedly striking illegal deals. All the accused are under custody of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of UP Police. The action against high profile officer can be seen in connection with CM Yogi’s promise of corruption-free governance.
Earlier, UP CM Yogi Adityanath had ordered an investigation against the personal secretaries of three UP ministers after they were caught in a sting operation demanding bribes on camera. In his statement, state government said that secretaries were subsequently suspended on graft charges after the sting operation by a news channel exposed them.
UP government on December 28 had directed the SIT to submit its report within 10 days. The SIT was headed by Additional Director General of Police, Lucknow Zone- Rajiv Krishna. UP CM Yogi follows the policy of zero tolerance towards corruption and takes strong action against corrupt officials, whether it is someone from his own party. In September this year, CM Yogi suspended Secretary Exam Controller and reshuffled as many as half a dozen top officials of the basic education department following the recruitment scam in the appointment of 68,500 Assistant Teachers in 1.61 lakh primary schools across the state.
Again in October 2017, CM Yogi dismissed the additional commissioner of Meerut and also suspended the additional district magistrate of Gautam Buddh Nagar on charges of corruption. In the same month, he suspended two police officers in Hamirpur for their alleged involvement in illegal mining.
On the occasion of completion of one year of BJP government in office, CM Yogi pledged to burn the ‘Lanka of corruption’ in the state. He had said, “Kuch logon ko bandaron se bahut darr lagta hai… main batana chahta hoon ki yahan bhi ek bandar hai jo bhrasht tantra ko jala kar nasht kar dega (Some people are very afraid of monkeys. I want to tell them that there is a monkey here who will burn down the entire corrupt system).” On the occasion, he also launched an anti-corruption portal where people can post pictures and videos as proof of corruption in their locality or in any institution. He had said, “Through this portal any official who is involved in corruption or is encouraging it at any level will not be spared. Effective action will be taken if a video or any other evidence is uploaded on the portal. This will deliver a lethal blow against the corrupt elements.” He also asserted, “Drive against corrupt officers will continue”. CM Yogi also said that his government had identified more than 400 corrupt officials with many of them getting awarded compulsory retirement in the past one year.
Akhilesh Yadav led SP government which had been in charge till 2017 in UP had created a mess in the state. When CM Yogi assumed power, he decided to curb the menace of corruption and to establish the rule of law and order in the state. So far, he has been successful in his mission.