CM lays foundation stone for Vigilance and Crime Branch buildings

Pinarayi Vijayan, Chief Minister has stated that a project titled 'Corruption Free Kerala' will be launched on 26th January, which will give an opportunity to those who want to give secret information about corruption. He was speaking in the foundation stone laying ceremony for the Crime Branch Headquarters and the buildings for the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau at Poonthura in Thiruvananthapuram, through video conference.
The project will be implemented in such a way that complaints can be lodged before an authority notified by the Government. Complaints received by the authority will be investigated only after they are seen by higher officials. With the implementation of the project, corruption in the Government service and the public sector will be completely eradicated, the Chief Minister added.
The Chief Minister has pointed out that Crime Branch is always in the forefront to bring the culprits to justice with the aid of accurate evidence. In some controversial cases the Government itself entrusted the enquiry with the Crime Branch. Excellence in investigation and competence are the only criteria for a posting in Crime Branch. Crime Branch has set an example for their investigation skill in the sensational Thozhiyoor Sunil Murder case after 25 years of the commitment of the offence. The Crime Branch has investigated 461 cases in 2019 and 406 in 2020.
The Chief Minster said that the Government has set up the environment for the Vigilance and Anti Corruption Bureau to function independently. A cyber forensic lab has been set up in Thiruvananthapuram to ensure the use of modern technology in vigilance investigations. A study conducted by Transparency International has found that Kerala is the least corrupted State in India.  In the last few years, Vigilance and Anti Corruption Bureau has conducted 32 inspections in the State and registered 56 trap cases. During this period, accused in about 70 cases were convicted by various courts.
G Sudhakaran, Minister, Public Works Department, while presiding over the function, said that corruption in the Public Works Department has been significantly reduced during the last four and a half years.  He said the State has made significant achievements in the field of infrastructure in the last few years.
     A state-of-the-art building complex will be built for the Crime Branch and the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau. The crime branch headquarters will also be built here.  Built on four floors having 34,500 square feet, the Crime Branch complex is equipped with all modern amenities.  The scattered Crime Branch offices in Thiruvananthapuram will be located here when the building is completed. The new building, called the Vigilance Complex, has five floors and an area of 75,000 square feet.  The building is being constructed for five vigilance offices operating from different parts of the city.
V S Sivakumar, MLA, Sudhesh Kumar, DGP and Chief of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau, S Sreejith, ADGP and Crime Branch Chief, Gopesh Agarwal and H Venkatesh, IGs, Harishankar, SP, Hygiene Albert, Chief Engineer, Public Works Department, Dr G Shankar, Chairman, Habitat Technology Group and Sudheer, Bimapalli East Councillor were also present on the occasion.
Photo Caption
The foundation stone for the Crime Branch and Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau buildings to be constructed at Poonthura in Thiruvananthapuram was laid by Pinarayi Vijayan, Chief Minster, online. G Sudhakaran, Minister, Public Works Department, inaugurating the function by lightning the chandelier. V S Sivakumar, MLA, Sudhesh Kumar, DGP, Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau, S Sreejith, ADGP, Crime Branch was also present.