Police Invest(ment)igation
Policemen and bribery have become synonymous with each other. I Paid A Bribe received 5,523 reports about the police department and an average amount of Rs.3,30,00,000 was collected under the table.
Money procured through corrupt means greases the machinery of the department. Reports suggest that without money exchanging hands all functions that are expected to be performed by the khaki clad men come to a complete standstill. Whether it is to file an FIR to trace a lost phone or to get your residence address verified for a passport, the policemen’s pockets need to be replenished with some ‘chai-paani’. Paying a bribe to policemen has gone from being ritualistic to becoming a matter of normalcy.
An article published by The Asian Age speaks of how corruption has become endemic in the Mumbai Police Department, and how its functions depend on a system of corruption.
The sub-inspectors take bribes either to sort out small matters that are reported to the police station. Of the other constables attached to the police station, ones in category A stations get around `3,000 per month, those in B make around Rs. 1,500 and C category constables get under Rs. 1,000 per month.
There are around four to five beat chowkies per police station, which are headed by two assistant police inspectors (APIs) and around eight constables — all working in shifts. An API makes around Rs. 35,000 per month, 10 per cent of which he parts with the senior PI.
Every police station also has a mobile van that patrols the area, which collects haftas from hawkers during nakabandis and late night open joints. A head constable or an assistant sub-inspector and four constables working in two shifts are attached to the mobile van.
Our notions of the police department being corrupt to the bone are reinforced time and again through movies and other forms of media. Are the policemen living up to the notoriety projected by the media or is the media playing up the role of corruption in the police department?
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