Reporting a bribe now just a click away

CHENNAI: If you’re irked about a bribe that you’ve had to shell out to any government official in the country and are disinclined to go to the anti-corruption cops, reporting it is just a click away. All it will take is a visit to www.ipaidabribe.com and filling in a report that will ask for the amount, which department official asked for it, and your location, to have it recorded in its database. Bringing to mind the corny yet dark bribe-reporting site featured in 2005 Tamil flick ‘Anniyan’, this also has all the reports filed available for all to see, minus the graphics and videos. “The website went live on August 15 last year, but there has been a spike in the bribes reported ever since the movement for Jan Lokpal began,” says Awanti Bele, Product Manager of the website.Reporting a bribe is not limited to those given on that day, “People can report bribes that they’ve given at any point of time. It all adds to our data collation,” she says. Run by Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy based in Bangalore, the site aims at using the reports to force the government to act. “We don’t stop with recommendations to the authorities but handhold them till a change is made,” adds Awanti. To curb fake reports and maintain confidentiality, they have a software to remove names of officials as well as complainants, “We have a verification process to determine that the complaint is reasonably reliable,” she says.