- I Paid A Bribe
- 13 years ago
- 2245 views
200 extra for Niagara **********
- Police
- Police Verification for Passport
- Paid INR 200
I applied for my passport when I was in my 5th semester at the Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore. My forms were verified and accepted at the District passport office without any hassle and I was told that the local police would have to verify my records and existence for the process to move along. The police would call me if they needed to. A year passed by and I was never contacted. I went to the police station one day and they found my application form in a large bundle of other similar forms. The person in charge held a pen in his hand and explained how the police department runs out of office supplies and asked if I would be kind enough to help the police with a 'donation' of Rs 200 so they can buy notepads and other stationary. One half of me wanted to walk out and forget about the passport forever but the other half wanted to see the Niagara Falls someday soon. I was weak and so I 'donated' Rs 200 for that precious signature. Things moved along pretty darn quick after that.
A new passport should be in your hand within 2 months from the day you apply. My passport arrived a year later at my hostel but I was long gone. So it took me another year to finally get a hold of it and just in time so I could travel to the USA for work.
I am writing this sitting here in the USA. I have seen the Niagara Falls twice and I wonder how different my life would have turned out if I can not been weak and had walked out of that Police station choosing to stay richer by Rs 200.