- Bribe Fighter
- 14 years ago
- 4561 views
Bangalore Traffic Police (Arekere Area) Harassed me from 10PM - 3AM in 2008.
Around mid July 2008, I had an office meeting that finished at 10PM. And though, as some would say, a female shouldn't be at office working beyond a particular hour, I am all pro equal rights and freedom. I do not wish to take work home, and I took the meeting from office. And, I did not violate any traffic laws.
My meeting finished at 10PM and I used to stay in JP Nagar 7th Phase. My office was in IBC Knowledge Park on Bannerghatta Road. Instead of taking the JP Nagar 100ft road and taking the left on 15th main, I decided to go the Arekere way and turn right near Wockhardt area. Now, these are my choices, and there is NOTHING wrong in these choices.
I was stopped by three traffic cops near the Wockhardt area on Bannerghatta Road and was asked to pay 500 rupees since I own a "BIG" car. I actually saw the cops collecting money from the truckers passing by as well. When I refused to pay, I was asked who all I lived with and my office address and other such private details since they claimed "I could be a terrorist". I showed them my office ID, documents for my car, license and PAN card. But, of course that didn't satisfy the cops. All through this I was polite and asked them if they needed a contact for my office HR to confirm if I am employed with them. But they didn't need any confirmation but money, and a bribe wasn't something I was willing to pay.
Next these cops refused to return me my documents and asked me to collect them from the police station the next day. When asked why they needed the keep my documents there was no answer to that either. I snatched my documents and IDs from their hand after a while, which agitated them more. I asked them to take me to the police station and we can talk there, but they didn't want to go to the police station either. They were soon joined in by another traffic cop from the police station and they verbally abused me and started yelling at me for being a non-Kannadiga and not speaking Kannada.
After fighting with these guys till past 1AM in the morning, I tried calling the general police station numbers, but no one picked up. No one picked up even at the 3-digit traffic police numbers either. I didn't have any other numbers to call or anyone to reach to. I live alone and my parents live outside India. I have grown up outside India all my life and am working in Karnataka.
I decided to lock myself in the car with all my documents and identity proofs, and sat around reading the newspaper till ~2:30AM when I fell asleep in my car in the middle of Bannerghatta Road! Sometime after 2:30AM, the cops realized they couldn't extract any pennies out of me, and knocked on my window and asked me to leave. But, I wanted their names before leaving, and they didn't want to give me their names either.
Frustrated, exhausted and angered, I left for home around 3AM. I do not know what else I could have done. Though I didn't pay a bribe, till this day, I am ANGRY at those losers. If I could only have their names, I would STILL want to take them to court over harassing me.
Anyway, I am happy to see this ********** online. I hope people benefit from it.