Police = Thief

This is a long but true story of the rogue cops of Chennai. Read on only if you are interested…

Yesterday was a day of great lows! It was a good day to start the week and as usual I dropped D off at the university and proceeded to office. On the Gandhi Mandapam road (just a thought, the name is a misnomer since the mandapam is a couple of kilometers away on another road) a cab way ahead in the traffic pulled up suddenly. This caused a sudden application of brakes of the cars following it including me in my third love. In a split second I felt a huge thump and the shattering of glass. As I was securely belted up I got away with no damage but my poor car was damaged very badly. I rushed out to see a sea of confusion; 1) A girl, ostensibly the pillion rider of the bike (A Bajaj Pulsar) that rammed into my car 2) A flustered guy who rushed to the aid of the girl who was by now bleeding and appeared hurt 3) A crowd of irate motorists who found this delay very irritating and 4) The usual good Samaritans who flagged down an auto and bundled No1. and No 2 into it in a flash leaving me behind totally frustrated with a badly damaged Martuthi Wagon R and a mangled Bajaj Pulsar.

My car after the crash
The dark spots are blood from the injured girl

The crowd dispersed almost immediately like magic and I was left wondering as to my next course of action. My despair reached great heights as for the second time in a row, after a long time in a service station and a bill of several thousands my car gets rammed in the back necessitating further repairs and hefty bills. I tried calling ICICI Lombard my insurer to register my claim but after several agonizing minutes on hold I got an executive who after taking down all my data hung up. A second call and the same on hold with painful promotional ads yielded nothing. Finally on the third call I got through and after a call that spanned 12 minutes I got my claim registered. The sheer indifference of these executives considering the fact that claims arise due to some accident rubbed salt into my now simmering wounds.
2nd time the door needs to be changed
The accident happened at 10.15 AM and despite sending word to the traffic cop posted much further down the road I got no response. I managed to locate the police station and logged a complaint; little did I know that my woes had only begun. After an agonizing wait of two hours sitting on the footpath finally a constable came to the spot. The owner of the bike still did not make an appearance. The cop made his notes and asked me to move my car to the other side of the road, and then he flagged an auto and asked the driver to move the bike likewise. I secretly pocketed the bike keys just for security. Then he got hold of another mini truck and asked the drivers to load the auto on the truck. The cop then asked me Rs. 50 to pay the truck driver to cart it to the police station. I asked him incredulously why I should pay for the vehicle when I was the victim, he said that they will settle it at the station and that it is better for me if I pay. Like a moron (actually I was so frustrated that even thinking took an effort) I took out the only note I had a Rs. 500 and looked at him like an idiot. He promptly changed it into smaller notes paid the truck driver Rs. 50 for carting the bike, the other driver Rs. 30 for lifting it and returned Rs. 300 to me saying that he owed me Rs.100.
I paid Rs. 50 for this cart !
In an attempt to pacify me, he kept repeating that he was a Christian too and started quoting the scriptures saying that I should not loose heart in the face of adversity. I saw a glimmer of hope but in a flash it was extinguished, when the constable unashamedly asked me to drop him to Muttukadu, a picnic spot 26 kms away as he had another call which he had to finish before he gives me my FIR. I was fuming and I declined to drop him. Then he instructed me to park the car in the police station and leave it overnight till he completes the investigation. In confusion I called up my dad who after talking to a friends got introduced to a DIG of police who instructed me to go to the station and lodge a complaint and get a copy of the FIR immediately and on no account leave my car behind. Accordingly I left to the station but before leaving the spot I had the presence of mind to take snaps of the vehicles and the spot which was a blessing in itself.

In the police station I had to recount my story and then the cops asked me to wait till their colleague returns from Muttukadu. Then they had a change of heart for whatever reason and asked me to return by 3 after lunch. The time then was around 1.30 PM. So I met a friend for lunch and we returned at 3.30 PM to the station. By that time the officer in charge had gone to sleep, it was his siesta time apparently! We were informed that we had to wait for him to arise. After twenty minutes the others decided to wake the sleeping cop and ask him for the certificate. (The certificate is needed for an insurance claim in the event of a third party damage). The cops proceeded to mouth a lot of administrative jargon which seemed to be an euphemism for “It’s going to cost you money”. Finally I got my report after an eternity and then the “Christian” cop walked in. (As I am a Christian too, I will refrain from calling him that any more and switch to “rogue”) He looked sufficiently dismayed to see me in the station against his advice, the possibility of a big loss in revenue maybe. This idiot had even got the number of the bike wrong, I was so irritated that he could not do a simple thing right. I had to show them the photos to prove my version of the story and the real number of the bike. If not for it, the complaint by itself would have been useless.
Can you read the number? That rogue couldn't!

Finally they wrote my certificate and handed it over to me scratching their heads. I pointedly tried to ignore their signal. As my friend and me stepped out the rogue cornered us and said that his colleagues had done us a favour by releasing the certificate without inspection and completion of legal formalities and we owed them. I tried reasoning that I was the victim and that I have come for redressal but it fell on deaf ears. I had a just Rs. 200 after paying for lunch and I gave it in disgust. The “Christian” cop then said that there were 3 and so it was not enough. I snapped literally and then I asked him what happened to the 100 Rs that he owed me. Without any shame he replied that the money covered his travel expenses to Muttukadu. My friend restrained me and paid another 100 bucks and we walked out of the place by around 5 PM.

I was so filled with revulsion for the police force; they are nothing but the scum of the earth. Worse I hang my head in shame that one should call himself a Christian and act like a rogue. For all my education, having a DIG to support and all my knowledge I had to go down to such lows to get a certificate that was mine by law, I shudder to think what would someone lesser be subjected to?