VIB records sixfold jump in convictions, says DG

Patna: Director general of the Vigilance Investigation Bureau (VIB) Jitendra Singh Gangwar on Monday said between 2000 and 2024, the bureau secured an average of only 5.6 convictions a year.

However, 30 accused were convicted in 2025 alone — a sixfold increase. So far in 2026, 10 more accused have already been convicted, and, at the current pace, the conviction tally this year is expected to surpass previous records.Gangwar said the bureau registered an average of 72 FIRs annually between 2000 and 2024. In 2025, the number rose by nearly 70% to 122 FIRs. In 2026, the number has already doubled compared to the corresponding period last year.

Earlier, one FIR was registered every two days on average.“Now the average has come down to 1.4 days, meaning roughly one case every 1.5 days. In trap cases too, the average was 49 a year over the last 25 years. In 2025, it rose to 101, and the bureau expects the number to triple this year,” he said.The DG said action is also being expedited against public servants who amassed assets illegally. The process to confiscate assets worth Rs102 crore belonging to corrupt officials has begun.

Of this, assets worth Rs32 crore have already been finally confiscated.On action taken against departments, Gangwar said cases have been registered against 44 officials of the revenue and land reforms department, 32 of the police department, 10 each of the health and education departments, and six each of the rural development and panchayati raj departments.Gangwar also spoke about irregularities in teacher appointments between 2006 and 2015. “So far, 6.70 lakh certificates of 3.50 lakh teachers have been verified. In this process, 1,830 FIRs have been registered, and investigations in some cases are still underway,” he said.As part of the probe, degrees issued by 378 boards and universities in Nepal and other states have also been verified, the DG added.