Police extortion in Karnataka

Mark_Lester

Well I assume that's where they were.
I have just heard of a case of an American couple driving to Goa overnight and being stopped by police. The officer asked who the lady was, when the guy said "my girlfriend" he started shouting at them and basically demanded a 500 rupee "fine" for not being married.
I hate this kind of stuff and feel it should at least be reported. I'm sure they cant be bothered to spend half a day in a police station in Goa but I think they should at least mail a local paper. I've asked the person (the victim is a friend of a facebook acquaintance) to find out roughly where abouts this happened. Obviously it was at night so they probably dont have an accurate idea.
Is this a common night time hazard for foreign, or native, drivers?.

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jyotirmoy

When I visited Goa a few years ago a British friend of ours who had been traveling on his Bullet told me that foreign drivers are often harassed by the traffic cops.

Mark_Lester

I guess there's worse that could happen, and I'm not expecting anyone to get reprimanded. I just find the night-time aspect of this particularly unpleasant.

capt_mahajan

Across India, no, but Goa seems to be a particularly smelly kind of fish these days.

If it happened to me, I would call their bluff- (I have, on some similar occasion) and make it clear that any harrasment to me will be returned to them in spades. Have done that too.

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steven_ber

I bet there's more to this story than we know.

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Gametotravel

The type of backward mentality cannot be Goa as it is and has been a international holiday spot for long. It has to be some obscure place in Karnataka.

capt_mahajan

Dunno. Maybe (and what I wanted to indicate in the last post) the road to Goa is paved with good intentions

namaste_cat

I've not experienced this in Goa, thank goodness, but I have been told by foreign & foreign-Indian couples that it does happen. It does not surprise me at all.

abracax

"The type of backward mentality cannot be Goa as it is and has been a international holiday spot for long. It has to be some obscure place in Karnataka."
Really? Try googling "police extortion Goa" and see what you find.
Let's not start slagging entire states before we get beyond the hearsay and idle prejudices, eh?

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edwardseco

Does it also involve not having a license, insurance, etc. and/or having other things.?

6345789

I have a british friend in Goa who drives a motorbike, perfectly legal, insurance, license, helmit. he often pays the "fine' on the way out of panjim (by the bridge) if he doesn,t they get nasty and he may well have to spend hours at the police staion and then be fined for a made up charge, ie overtaking, speeding. Corruption is endemic in Goa, from the bottom to the top.

johnny five

Fully agree with your sentiments regarding the corruption, but.......

If like I was he "owns" or "borrows" the bike and has white, not yellow plates and does not have residency or a business visa with the business owning the vehicle, he is not FULLY legal, and the Goan police know this. A lot of them dont know how to read and write, but they know this!
For that reason, my trips to Panjim always used the ferry from Betim, also a more pleasant way of entering the town.......

Mark_Lester

Oops, I didnt mean to start up a row here . We all know what traffic cops can be like, especially in places where you have to pay for the privilege of being one.
I never got a response to my request for more detail, so I dont know if there was "any more to it", but it does sound like "ooh, rental car, with girlie, at night, kerching!"

GoanCanuck

Most probably it is not legal because he is driving a bike with white plates. Too many people are guilty of doing this and they used to get away with it in the past but not any longer.

vinceorian

What is the problem with riding a bike that is privately registered, I have not seen bikes with commercial plates nor have I heard of it, but assume that would be neccesary for rental bikes in places like Goa.
I do hear quite often they target one particular countries people as they are more often than not carrying dope so throw money at the police to get rid of them.
Police corruption is widespread all over India from the highest, down to the lowest ranks.
I have even personally witnessed a drunken policeman getting his "drinks money" from a decrepit old man who was begging on the street. He copped a mouthful of abuse from me which attracted a bit of a crowd much to his embarrassment, till he could scuttle away. They can stoop no lower.