- Bribe Fighter
- 11 years ago
- 2455 views
False Allegations on not paying bribe.
We were crossing the traffic signal opposite Belvedere Towers, Phase V in Gurgaon. The signal was green. We were about to cross the crossing when the car infront of us slowed down as a cow decided to cross the road. While we were at the crossing, the signal turned red.
A Traffic Police man came to us and asked us to pullover. His face was covered with a white handkerchief - so I could only see his eyes. He asked me to roll down the window and without even a second thought he said - "300 de do" ( Give me 300 bucks". I asked him for what he wanted the money and explained him the situation. He said he didn't care and that the fine was much higher and he was willing to let me go only for 300 bucks. I argued for a bit but it was scorching hot and my wife was waiting in the car so without any further delay I told him that I rather pay the full fine. He asked me to go to the officer sitting on the bike.
I approached the second officer, his face covered as well. I asked him for his ID and he said that he would need my licence first. I handed over my license to him. He made some remarks on a sheet, gave me a slip. He asked me to collect my license from the RTO after 2-3 days after paying the fine there. I asked him for his ID again and he said that he has given my the slip and that is good enough to prove that he is a cop. I didn't insist and walked off.
After 3 days, I reached the RTO to collect my license and to my horror, it was punched and I had to pay a fine of about Rs. 5000/- I was charged for over-speeding, skipping the red light, arguing with authority, probably everything that was there for the cop to fill.
I narrated this incident to a few friends and they said - "Isn't it just better to pay the bribe.?"
I guess the cops wanted to teach me a lesson for not paying a bribe and making sure that the next time I think twice before asking them to fine me.