Comment Pieces

Show them the money and save a date with your honey

Posted on May 29, 2012

An offbeat news report caught our attention last week. The gist of it is that the  Police Commissioner in Chennai suspended three constables on charges of harassing young couples who frequented the famous Marina Beach there.

The modus operandi ran thus: the cops clicked snaps of the duo and blackmailed them to pay them money or face the danger of the photos being sent to their family. Their game was exposed when a Tamil newspaper published photos of the cops collecting bribes.

This is a rare instance where the cops were caught red-handed. As many lovers complain on our portal, policemen harass young lovers under the guise of fighting libertine Western values. Eager to ward off the cop who eats into the time they have for each other, the young man usually pulls out his wallet and concedes to any monetary demand.

One of our respondents from Rohtak (Haryana) informs that he had to pay cops a bribe of Rs. 3,300 for taking his girlfriend out on a date. This couple, who were medical students, had planned a night out along with other friends.

Suddenly, a police jeep emerged and badgered the group. The cops snatched his girlfriend’s phone. To assist her, our complainant hurriedly bribed the cops.

Another young couple wrote in from Bangalore to say they faced worse harassment.  The duo, was having a regular chat in their area. Policemen, who noticed them, warned them and started misbehaving with the girl. “Cops threatened to go to her parents and even felt her leg when I was giving information.” The harassment ended after I paid Rs 600 to them, he adds. http://ipaidabribe.com/bribe-central/bribe-sitting-girl

By Rupsa Chakraborty