The recent attachment of immovable property worth Rs 53.28 crore belonging to a retired Assam Police DIG, Prasanta Kumar Dutta, and his family by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has once again highlighted the deep-rooted corruption among bureaucrats and officers. Earlier, the ED had initiated an investigation based on a case registered by the Vigilance & Anti-Corruption Branch of the Assam Police, under Sections 13(1)(b) and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. These offences have been listed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA). The FIR that started the case and led to the former DIG’s arrest stated that from 1992 to 2019, Dutta gained assets that were much larger than what he should have based on his known income. While Dutta and his wife had disclosed income of Rs 7.23 crore, the police have uncovered undisclosed assets of about Rs 77.21 crore so far. The former DIG’s net disproportionate assets stand at approximately Rs. 79.01 crore. Investigations have also confirmed a long list of properties that Dutta amassed through unlawful means. Money made from illegal activities was made to look legitimate through three private companies that have no real offices. The investigation found that Rs 147,499,091 in unexplained cash was added to the accounts of the family members and the companies and that this money was moved around using fake shareholders, shell companies in Kolkata, and circular bank transfers before being used to buy hotel properties in Guwahati, flats in Guwahati, Mumbai and a few other places. The people listed as shareholders of the three companies were mostly individuals without their own income, including fake or name-lending shareholders, who couldn’t explain where their money came from and didn’t have enough income to match the amount of shares they owned. Corruption among senior police officers refers to the abuse of sworn power, discretion, and authority for personal or political gain. This deeply entrenched issue undermines public trust and directly impacts the integrity of the justice system. While the investigations have revealed numerous details about the disproportionate wealth Dutta has accumulated through the misuse of his power, position, and influence, it is important to note that he is not the only corrupt officer in the Assam Police. There are many instances of Assam Police officers facing arrest on corruption charges. In at least one instance, a former DGP had committed suicide after he could not come out of a major case of corruption. There are both serving and retired police officers who have accumulated significant properties that do not appear to be proportionate to their known sources of income. Corruption has been discovered among some Assam Police Service and Indian Police Service officers. There are several instances of officers belonging to the Assam Civil Service, and for that matter, of the Indian Administrative Service too, who have been found guilty of corruption. Corruption in India, in fact, is widely characterised as a systemic disease, one that not only eats up individuals from within but also severely undermines economic growth, erodes public trust in democratic institutions, and exacerbates socio-economic inequality. Corruption is a disease, a cancer that eats into the cultural, political and economic fabric of society and destroys the functioning of the country’s vital organs. PK Dutta is only one example.