Paying bribe: matter of life or death
By Manisha Yadav
A tiny report published early this week in the corner of a newspaper shocked us due to the sheer barbarity involved.
A Delhiite was pushed out of the speeding New Delhi-PuriPurushottam Express near the Pursauli railway station in Kaimur district (Patna) on June 25. The Travelling Ticket Examiner (TTE) did it in a fit of rage when the passenger refused to pay the bribe demanded of him for the extra luggage he was carrying.
A similar incident was reported from Ranchi (Bihar) recently. The passenger was at fault to some extent. He had boarded the train without a valid ticket. However, instead of fining him or taking him to jail for the offence, the TTE chose to throw him out of a moving train.
Assuming the train to be a personal domain on the lines of their houses, these officials choose to throw out those they dislike. These incidents speak volumes of the corruption prevalent among certain officials who think it their birthright to demand money from others. Only those who have the courage to court disaster will dare oppose them, particularly in a moving train.