My friend Nitin Vyas has this experience to relate:
“At9.00am on 22nd May on Kanakpura road, close to Thalgatpura Police station. KSRTC bus no. KA 42F 040 ran in to my car from behind.
The rear of my car was completely damaged . (The estimated cost of repairs is Rs 1 lakh.) The bus drove away from the scene as I took my car to the side of the road..
I went to Thalagatpura Police station at 9.15 am to file an FIR against the bus driver. Arun Thimme Gowda was in charge of registering complaints. He did not respond for the next three hours. The Sub Inspector was not available at the police station. He arrived at around noon. Then he assigned the job to one ‘writer’ named Ravi.
“Ravi did not do anything till 2.00pm. Finally, I had to pay him Rs 500 to start the FIR writing work. He kept going to Sub Inspector’s room to enquire about some thing. Ravi left at 3.00pm and left the job incomplete..
“The job was assigned to some one else now and this person started typing the FIR in a standard format. He kept going out of the police station every now and then. I had to pay him another Rs 500 so that he would complete the FIR work which he did at about 5.00pm.
“The FIR papers were sent to Arun Thimme Gowda for his approval and signature. He demanded Rs 2000/- for signing the FIR papers which I paid him to get the copy of it. I paid Rs 200 to other police personnel for guiding me through the entire process. So, altogether, I paid Rs 3200 as ‘chaipani’ expenses, and spent 9 hours in the police station to get the FIR.”
Nitin has yet to pay (or get the car insurance to pay) the money for the repair of the car.
Our police processes seem to be a farce. There is no accountablity on the part of bus drivers when they cause accidents. The common citizen cannot get anything done without resorting to bribery. It is a sad story that I have had to related here…sad that it is so common. “Chaipani” seems to be the name of the game, Anna Hazare and his ilk are just a drama that makes no sense.
Very sad to note. Accessing government services is not easy many a times, as there is no transparency. Now, the instant solution is to reach to the higher-ups immediately. Within 4-5 levels, you work gets done, as the chain always has a good person. The long term solution is only transparency! One idea will be to have a common helpline to file FIR over internet, SMS or phone. The proof shall be an active passport number/Aadhar card/driving license etc. All these are available with govt for cross verification in a second. Once the FIR is automatically booked, then it can be routed to the concerned police station for necessary action. The common helpline for the entire state will require not more than 100 persons in 3 shifts and a good software application. May be matter of 10-15 crores/year, but a boon to the common man! I am even ready to volunteer making the project and show how it can be run, if anybody has doubts on how it will work! And, i am sure that there are capable officers in the Police dept itself to do this!:)
Many more similar instances found here : http://www.ipaidabribe.com/
It is sad to note that law protectors have become law breakers. This is the situation throughout our INDIA., but bengaluru has a tag of being most corrupted State, what else one can expect. The top officials, always have a readymade answers like we are looking into it, action will be taken after investigation etc, nothing happens, and people keep on paying to get their things done. Bribery has been part and parcels of our soceity and this attitude has been accepted by the majority of people in namma bengaluru. To annhilate corruption, the public outlook and mindset should be changed. Anna Hazare started the movement, to take it forward is the duty of every Indian especially the younger generation and make it happen, but the younger generation itself is pampered with luxury and money, so the future looks bleak. .