Patna: Vigilance Investigation Bureau (VIB) has secured convictions against 11 public servants in corruption cases so far this year, continuing a sharp rise in its conviction rate after recording a 25-year high of 30 convictions in 2025. Officials attributed the rise to stronger case monitoring, effective prosecution and improved presentation of evidence in courts.The latest conviction came on Wednesday when a special court sentenced Bhola Paswan, the then circle officer of Roh in Nawada district, to four years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 5,000. Paswan was caught red-handed by the Vigilance Bureau in 2014 while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 4,000. Convicted under two provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, he received separate sentences of three and four years, which will run concurrently.The bureau recorded its best performance in the past 25 years in 2025, when 30 public servants were convicted in corruption cases. The figure stood at 18 in 2024. By contrast, only two convictions were secured in 2000 and 2001, while none were recorded in 2002 and 2005.Officials said several of those convicted in 2025 had evaded punishment for years despite being caught in trap cases, but sustained legal follow-up eventually led to their conviction.The first conviction of 2026 came in January, when former Vaishali ranger Sitaram Chaudhary was sentenced to one year in jail and fined Rs 10,000 in a 1997 bribery case in which he was caught accepting Rs 1,500. In February, former rural development department junior engineer Jairam Singh was sentenced to one year of rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs 10,000 for accepting a Rs 3,000 bribe in 2008. Three convictions were secured in February, while one conviction each was recorded in March, April, May, June and July.Vigilance director general Jitendra Singh Gangwar attributed the improved conviction rate to continuous monitoring of cases, timely production of witnesses, effective presentation of evidence and the work of a dedicated team of legal experts. He expressed confidence that the number of convictions would rise further in the coming months.