-The Economic Times   The Central Vigilance Commissioner has reopened the debate on the mandate of the proposed Lokpal by suggesting that corporates should be brought under the purview of the proposed anti-corruption bill to check graft effectively. He also said that corruption in higher levels of bureaucracy, as also among political executives, should be dealt with by Lokpal, provided there was a proper demarcation of work to avoid overlapping of powers...

Nitish orders suspension of investigating officer, two other policemen In yet another incident of police brutality, policemen mercilessly beat up several persons, including women, in Bihar's Nalanda district on Thursday. The incident occurred when a large crowd trooped in front of the Noorsarai police station to protest against the recent disappearance of a young woman Sushma Kumari alias Reena Devi, who is the panchayat secretary. The mob alleged that the investigating officer (IO)...

-The Telegraph   The Centre is planning to carry out a land survey in 60 Maoist-affected districts and provide legal aid to tribals fighting disputes over plots amid concerns that tribal dispossession was the main reason behind the growth of Naxalism. Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh today said a large number of tribals had lost land to non-tribals. “We have to document these cases and provide legal assistance to tribals who are fighting land...

There are structural aspects to a problem as complex as corruption. These cannot be tackled through punishment alone. Just as our society tends to latch on to holy men for miracle cures, in recent weeks, the urban middle classes have placed great hopes on an anti-corruption movement led by a pious man in a Gandhi cap. (The other claim on leadership by a holy man in red robes did not...

The Lokpal legislation, in whatever form, will not be the only law we have on corruption. Apart from statutes on prohibition of benami transactions and prevention of money laundering, there is the IPC (Indian Penal Code). Under Sections 169 and 409 of IPC, depending on the offence, public servants can face imprisonment (from two years to life) and fines. This wasn't enough of a deterrent and after Bofors, we had...