- I Paid A Bribe
- 10 years ago
- 1185 views
Paid a bribe three times over for the same reason
- Police
- Police Verification for Passport
- Paid INR 6,600
In order to apply for a passport, a local police station clearance is required after which the cell that does a home visit and further verification comes into the picture. I went to the head constable at the Indirapuram Police station with a lot of apprehension since I had a bad experience a couple of years earlier, when I was there to get an FIR for claiming insurance for my vehicle. The head constable looked at me and stated that since this was a passport application, they "charge" 700/passport to complete the procedure and he was clear about the split of this amount, mentioning that there are multiple layers that need to be satisfied when an application is received, for clearance and here I was, all naive thinking that I could get this clearance just by being an honest citizen of my country.
There was a policeman that was deputed to conduct the verification from Ghaziabad Police. He called and came home at the assigned time and date. We had missed him once earlier so I was all the more worried. You do not want to be on the wrong side of these folks, specially when I needed to get my passport. He came home and completed the verification, asked for a couple of documents and said he is done and that the report should reach the passport office police station within a week. On his way out, he stood and smiled. I sensed that this was the time I need to pay the bribe as I had been adequately coached by all previous applicants that these folks would delay the report IF they were not paid. I pressed a 500 rupee note in his hand as advised by some of my friends and said that it was for the verification and quick response from him and his team, if any. He said thanks and went away.
After this, I went to the passport office after 15 days and was dismayed to note that the verification was not received from Police and hence my passport was delayed. Note that I had finalized my itinerary based on the assumption that it would take about 45 days for my passport. I was informed at the passport office that I could go to the police station, near the District Court, in Ghaziabad and inquire about the clearance. If I could get the clearance form, my passport would be made available within a couple of days post the receipt of this clearance from Police. I went to that place, family in tow, note that both of us work and our son was about 2 years old at that time, so accounting for lost time and effort and valuable leaves. I was first given the merry go round treatment, going from one desk to another, as usual and then on my way out, after having thought that I need "approach" to take this further, I was addressed by a Policeman who identified himself as the one that is responsible for the dispatch of said clearance forms. He stated that he could speed up the process if he was taken care off. I, the regular dumb individual that was asked him what I would need to do to ensure that he was taken care off. My wife however understood the meaning and asked him straight what was the amount that was required. he stated the amount being 500 rs per passport and that amounted to 1500 for the 3 of our passports. I went to an ATM withdrew the required amount, and waited for this "Police Dispatcher". He had arranged an elaborate payment procedure to ensure that he is not visible near the station while accepting the bribe. Once the payment was made, I was assured that the forms would reach the Passport office within the next working day. Thankfully this was the last bribe I was required to pay, apart from the "Bakshis" that the postman demanded for delivering our passports..Was I happy when I finally received my passport a couple of days short of my itinerary. I was able to make the trip and all was well. Only we were poorer by about 6600 rs on the whole,apart from the passport fees and all.