Dhaka: The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has revived the trap case system aimed at stopping wholesale corruption, especially bribery, in the public sector.

‘The anti-corruption body has once again started trap case system after getting allegations that government officials are demanding bribes,’ ACC deputy director (public relations) Pranab Bhattacharjee told BSS on Sunday.

ACC has conducted 8 to 10 trap cases in the last one and a half months and arrested some government officials red handed while taking bribes, he also said.

In some recent drives, the commission captured two land officers in Tangail and Narsingdi and a law officer of Roads and Highways in Dhaka while accepting bribes, he added.

Usually, the commission forms a trap committee after getting allegations of bribery and then conducts a drive to round up the corrupt officers and employees in line with the law.

The commission has already instructed the corruption prevention committees at upazila and district levels to take measures to make people aware so that they lodge complaints about any incident of bribery.

Though the ACC was forced to almost stop one of its effective system ‘trap case’ to catch bribe takers red-handed mainly due to lack of complaints and legal limitations, the anti- graft body has once again started it.

Under the system, the ACC earlier carried out dozens of cases and rounded up many officers and employees of RAJUK, WASA, BRTA, DCC and DESA on charges of taking bribes.

ACC officials said they have been facing trouble to carry out drives in catching bribe takers as very few people, who face such problems, come to its offices with such complaints.

The complainants do not come with complaints to the ACC as they would have to deposit the money to the state coffer as evidence for a long time and face harassment from the concerned department, they said.

They also blamed the limitations in the laws for slowing down the trap case system, saying, ‘It is impossible for the ACC alone to fight corruption. A concerted effort is crucially important to check bribery.’