VACB seeks pvt deposit info of politicians from IT dept

In a bid to track down the black money in Kerala, the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau has sought details from the Income Tax Department about the deposits of politicians or public servants in private financial institutions.
Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) Director and DGP Jacob Thomas sent a letter to the department in the wake of a series of recent vigilance probes against some high profile politicians.
Vigilance sources here said the letter did not mention the name of any particular individual, but generally asked for the deposit details of politicians or public servants in private financial establishments in the state.

"Any government department is bound to furnish information sought as part of the investigation. Especially the cases in which FIRs are registered. When an information is sought under CrPC, it should be shared with us," a VACB official said.
The official also said investigation of corruption cases should be multi-disciplinary and a collaboration of different agencies, including Income Tax department, Enforcement Directorate, RBI, CBI and so on is essential in this regard now-a-days.
"Investigation in anti-corruption cases will be effective only if they share information with each other. Otherwise, big fish will always escape and corruption will continue."
Asked about media reports that the Income Tax department was reluctant to share details sought by VACB, the official said the agency had not received any official communication in this regard so far.

Former ministers K Babu and K M Mani are under the scanner of Vigilance in connection with the controversial bar scam.