Customs Officer Caught in the Act
“Customs officials demanding a bribe from international passengers deplaning at Bangalore International Airport (BIA), to let them carry their expensive gear out of the airport, is an open secret. So it comes as a pleasant surprise to hear that one victim of the racket had the guts to go public over his experience. The result: the official concerned has been suspended and an inquiry into the case is underway.
Thirty-four-year-old Manik Taneja, a software architect and adventure sports freak, landed at BIA on September 2 from the US with a kayak, declared its cost in the customs form and walked through the red channel. Nonetheless, a customs superintendent allegedly stopped him, raised objections over the equipment, and threatened to confiscate the boat unless Taneja shelled out Rs 8,000. Taneja argued for a while about rules and regulations, but finally gave in… Taneja posted his case on www. ipaidabribe.com, drawing as many as 369 views and similar comments from fellow-travellers (see box). He also made a clean breast of the fact that he felt guilty having paid a bribe. The post did not go unnoticed by the Bangalore customs, who got Taneja’s details from the portal promoters and contacted him.”
Here is an excerpt from a cover article recently published by Bangalore Mirror, a widely read tabloid that picked up an interesting report of a respondent on our website I Paid a Bribe. The report eventually helped bring the corrupt customs officer to book. Manik Taneja had reported that the customs officer had extorted Rs.8000 when he travelled from the United States to India. Read the report on our website that caught the attention of the tabloid.