The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Dial Lokayukta to complain against officials

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Thursday, Mar 20, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Dial Lokayukta to complain against officials

Raghava M.

The helpline will be launched on March 25 by Governor Rameshwwar Thakur

Helpline will make the authority accessible to people round the clock
Six police personnel will handle the calls

Bangalore: The Lokayukta helpline is all set to be launched on March 25 to receive complaints from the public about corrupt practices and administrative lacunae in government offices. An online facility (http://lokayukta.kar.nic.in) will also be launched to help people provide information. Governor Rameshwar Thakur will launch the two facilities.

The helpline will make the authority accessible to the people round-the-clock. It will handle all kinds of calls, including those seeking help for admitting patients in the night.

The officer receiving the call will make all necessary arrangements. If the call is about corruption and maladministration, it will be recorded and sent to Lokayukta police for investigation.

The calls will be made to a telephone that is attached to voice-logger software. The software enables the operator to record the entire conversation with the caller. The operators have been provided with computers having the telephone numbers of all the hospitals, fire stations, police stations and Lokayukta police officers in the State.

Six police personnel have been taken on deputation to handle the calls.

“We have trained the police personnel about the way in which the calls need to be handled. I have shared with them my experience of handling the calls that are being made to my mobile phone,” Lokayukta N. Santosh Hegde told The Hindu.

Apart from the six personnel, the Lokayukta staff is being trained. “We have also applied for a toll-free number,” he added.

Two persons will be handling the calls made to the helpline. The calls made by the operators to the authorities concerned will have all seriousness attached to those made by Lokayukta or Upa Lokayukta.

“Upa Lokayukta and I will also be available in cases where the operators find it hard to tackle the problem,” Mr. Hegde said.

Website

The National Informatics Centre is working on the Lokayukta’s website to provide a facility for people to give information about officials possessing disproportionate assets.

“We are just asking for the information. We are not insisting on the names of those who give it,” said Additional Director-General of Police (Lokayukta) R.K. Datta.

The information would be accessed only by the Lokayukta and the Additional Director-General of Police, Mr. Datta added.

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