1 week ago
Tamil Nadu Techie’s Anti-Bribe Platform Turns Complaints Into Pressure
Deepak Sivakumar created a website called Makkal Saatchi, which means “People’s Witness.”
People can use it to report bribe demands in Tamil Nadu without revealing their names.
The website says it has received more than 1,300 reports from all 38 districts.
The reports together mention about ₹24 crore in alleged bribes.
Sivakumar groups similar complaints and shares them publicly while tagging government officials.
He says this has led to action in some cases, including the transfer of an official after complaints about a medical education office.
Many reports concern TASMAC, electricity offices, registration offices and municipalities.
Sivakumar supports Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay’s anti-corruption position but also criticizes alleged wrongdoing within Vijay’s party.
An anti-corruption campaigner says group action may reduce corruption but cannot eliminate it completely.
Deepak Sivakumar launched Makkal Saatchi, an anonymous Tamil Nadu anti-bribery reporting platform.
The platform says it has recorded 1,305 reports across all 38 districts, involving ₹24 crore in reported bribes.
Sivakumar groups repeated complaints and tags officials on X, saying authorities have taken action in some cases.
TASMAC has the most reports, followed by electricity, registration and municipal offices.
Sivakumar funds the platform himself and is developing a confidential identity-verification system for a possible national service.
- Who
- Deepak Sivakumar, a 32-year-old Chennai software engineer working at Wipro, launched Makkal Saatchi.
- What
- Makkal Saatchi collects anonymous complaints about alleged bribery and public-service corruption.
- Where
- The platform covers all 38 districts of Tamil Nadu.
- When
- It had been operating for more than 80 days as of August 17, 2026.
- Why
- Sivakumar says he was motivated by frustration with systemic corruption, especially at TASMAC, and by C Joseph Vijay’s stated opposition to graft.
Supporters of collective reporting
Limits of crowdsourced action
Whether the platform can make a difference
Supporters of collective reporting
Sivakumar says grouping repeated complaints and tagging senior officials has prompted government action, including the reported transfer of a medical education office superintendent.
Limits of crowdsourced action
S Nagalsamy says collective action can make the bureaucracy listen and reduce corruption, but it cannot eradicate corruption entirely.
How the platform handles political accountability
Supporters of collective reporting
Sivakumar says Makkal Saatchi should expose corruption regardless of political affiliation and has criticized alleged bribery-related conduct within C Joseph Vijay’s party.
Limits of crowdsourced action
The article does not report a response from the party or officials to those specific allegations, so the claims remain presented as complaints or reports on the platform.
Key facts
- Platform
- Makkal Saatchi, meaning “People’s Witness”
- Reported complaints
- 1,305 public reports
- Geographic reach
- All 38 districts of Tamil Nadu
- Reported bribe value
- ₹24 crore
- Anonymous submissions
- 86% of reports were submitted anonymously
- Reported users
- About five lakh users, according to Sivakumar
- Most-reported category
- TASMAC, followed by electricity, registration and municipal offices
Quotes
Deepak Sivakumar
Founder of Makkal Saatchi, Chennai software engineer
“If I get any complaints repeated from the same person or same institution or same thing, I will collect all the things and I will put it on Twitter and tag the concerned officials. They [Tamil Nadu administration] are definitely taking action.”
theprint.in
“CM Vijay’s strict approach to corruption and bribery inspired me to create this website.”
theprint.in
Sources
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