[svasan]

The threats are many. Getting transferred, having false civil/criminal cases foisted against themselves, death threats, violence from goons and henchmen, etc.

Recently, there was the case of Ashok Khemka who spoke out against nepotism and such. He was relieved of his responsibilities (as a Director General/Inspector General in the Revenue Registry) immediately and seconded as a Managing Director elsewhere (a fairly low level position compared to his experience and seniority). There is also a wiki page about him. An honest and upright officer. His qualifications are also excellent (PhD in CS, MBA + IAS).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashok_Khemka

If such hardship can be faced by a very senior government officer, the smaller fish have absolutely no chance but to relent.