[isiv]

Originally Posted by dipak1406

HI SDP1975
one visit to the police station and you will stop believing in Democracy and law obedience. Its like you have entered into a Broker Room where every one from constable to the PI are looking to make money

No one cares a damn about what is the truth - to them truth is a joke.

I have no contact in Police or Lawyer and approaching friends and relatives is kind of embarrassing but our wonderful Police Department ensures that this becomes a necessity in future.

I'm in the same boat as you. No contacts of any kind, no legal or illegal muscle power, the educated fool who tries to respect the law, who believes in doing things right, doing the right thing, who gets milked at every step of life. And these 'wise' men to govern us and uphold the law for us. Just makes me hate myself for giving up the option to migrate permanently to a foreign country. When someone pointed out to me that I will always be treated an alien and given second grade treatment outside my country, the only question I had was - as a responsible 30% tax payer what is the grade of treatment I receive in my own country? Besides I and my offspring will be (legally) deprived of education and opportunities because I belong to an 'upper caste'. So what's the big difference? At least I'll be in a place where human life is given greater importance and hard work does not go unnoticed...

I recall another incident with my one of my distant acquaintances. They were based somewhere up North and his (working) mom traveled to Bangalore on business. Unfortunately, her cab was involved in a fatal accident and resulted in death on the spot. Father and son traveled to bangalore, but were in too much shock to even think or do anything. At that point, every great indian starting from the helper guy at he mortuary, to the hospital doctors to the constables, to the ambulance guys, every single character was only looking for his cut, absolutely zero sensitivity to the people who are dealing with death of a close family member.

Her body was in a hospital closest to the accident spot and (if I remember right) it had to be transported to a govt. hospital for post-mortem.

Even before they could start asking, they were quoted a price of 50K to transport the body. And apparently they even claimed they could transport the body to their city at 2 lacs.

I still cannot believe its actually possible for human beings to be so callous.

Pray I never get into a position where I have to deal with such people. I might just strangle one (or many) of them and end up spending the rest of my life in jail.

But hats off to you and thanks for sharing your experience in such detail. Good luck.

[ranjeetnair]

was reading this thread and today a small incident happened with me.Today morning while traveling as i was approaching a signal,suddenly from left a biker overtook me from left and he was planning to cross the signal before it turns red ,but as the signal changed to red,he suddenly braked and since he was bang in front of me i had to apply the break too.nothing happened to the Biker,but a second later a tavera(taxi) came and hit my vehicle on the spare wheel.No injuries to anyone.was wearing the seatbelt and wife and kid was in back seat,they were fine too.
Biker(college student) fled off as soon as the light turn green.i pulled at the side of the road and so did the tavera.i assessed the damage.the bottom part of the spare wheel mount was bent and hence the portion of the car it came in contact had slight dent and at both end of the logo(ecosport and titanium) had dents.
Felt furious but more sad that had to my ecosport for repair along with its first service due this week.
In tavera there were 6-7 guys and the front passenger for lack of wearing seat-belt hit his on windshied,which had a crack.driver was calling the owner of the taxi.
I though there is no point in asking for the driver for my repair works and after a while when i was preparing to leave ,the driver asks me for him insurance copy so that he can claim the windshield cost,as the taxi owner has asked him to do the same. .I told him that he had hit me from behind and he should pay my bills.He said he he had noted the my car registration number.i told him to go ahead and do what he like.as it was a sunday no policeman was there.even though it happened on the busy sardar patel road near IIT madras.

Sorry for going going into details.My point is what to do in situation when you or your vehicle has been hit ?

[humyum]

Originally Posted by ranjeetnair

was reading this thread and today a small incident happened with me.Today morning while traveling as i was approaching a signal,suddenly from left a biker overtook me from left and he was planning to cross the signal before it turns red ,but as the signal changed to red,he suddenly braked and since he was bang in front of me i had to apply the break too.nothing happened to the Biker,but a second later a tavera(taxi) came and hit my vehicle on the spare wheel.No injuries to anyone.was wearing the seatbelt and wife and kid was in back seat,they were fine too.
Biker(college student) fled off as soon as the light turn green.i pulled at the side of the road and so did the tavera.i assessed the damage.the bottom part of the spare wheel mount was bent and hence the portion of the car it came in contact had slight dent and at both end of the logo(ecosport and titanium) had dents.
Felt furious but more sad that had to my ecosport for repair along with its first service due this week.
In tavera there were 6-7 guys and the front passenger for lack of wearing seat-belt hit his on windshied,which had a crack.driver was calling the owner of the taxi.
I though there is no point in asking for the driver for my repair works and after a while when i was preparing to leave ,the driver asks me for him insurance copy so that he can claim the windshield cost,as the taxi owner has asked him to do the same. .I told him that he had hit me from behind and he should pay my bills.He said he he had noted the my car registration number.i told him to go ahead and do what he like.as it was a sunday no policeman was there.even though it happened on the busy sardar patel road near IIT madras.

Sorry for going going into details.My point is what to do in situation when you or your vehicle has been hit ?

That's what I always do when someone threatens me with 'I am writing down your number', sometimes, I take a pen and paper and write it down for them myself. Gives them the shock of their lives.

Good going, you did the right thing by just scooting away. These taxi guys would have not paid a nickle anyway.

[Anand3553]

While going through the thread there were several questions on whether it is legal to film a police official. I think it is legal as long as it is in a public place. Otherwise I fail to understand how the CCTVs and the channel cameras are legal.
However, it might be an offense inside a police station in case photography is prohibited (I am not sure if it is).

[vrajaram]

Hi Deepak,

I must say you handled it reasonably well. Dealing with Police, and legal system thereon isn't easy for many. Many a times, its all about money !! A point to note is that we should never act scared, particularly in front of cops.

Am not sure what you meant by table bail, it is generally called "Station Bail". This is generally given by the Police station itself, for bailable/petty cases, and it is based on their judgement and discretion. Your lawyer was right, it will take 4-5 years to contest and settle in court. It was your misfortune that the injured was a government servant !

I really liked your "Arjun and Krishna" reference. And that must be the message to all.

Few years back, my friend accidentally damaged a new Wagon-R in Bangalore, near Kasturba Road. We apologized and offered to get it replaced, but he dragged us to the Police station, and we noted that everyone started saluting this gentleman, whose car was hit. He was apparently a retired DIG of Karnataka Police, we were threatened with a criminal case (attempt to murder), etc by the current top official there. I told him to proceed with whatever he can and just left the place. We went by law, paid fine in RTO, Koramangala and some miscellaneous to investigating SI, that's it !!

Having interacted with police, lawyers, due to my current roles and responsibilities, i can say that it's not easy, but not too difficult either !!

[vrajaram]

Originally Posted by Anand3553

While going through the thread there were several questions on whether it is legal to film a police official. I think it is legal as long as it is in a public place. Otherwise I fail to understand how the CCTVs and the channel cameras are legal.
However, it might be an offense inside a police station in case photography is prohibited (I am not sure if it is).

Anand,

CCTV's are installed by Government/Private entities, and they are supposed to declare to that effect, so as to not invade into anyone's privacy. There may be regulations with respect to installations as well.

As for legality of filming a police official, you have to declare to that effect. In general secret filming/recording/taping is not allowed by an individual, as per the lawyer i have interacted with, and there are several procedures laid down under Indian Telegraph Act ! Only government machinery, with permission from Magistrate/Court can tap secretly.

But Indian Courts have on occasions admitted these as evidences during arbitration.

[Top-Gear]

Originally Posted by dipak1406

Dear Colleagues
Accidents happen in India and this Thread is to educate Novices like me to what happens next.

Trust this will give you courage and guide you in similar situations

Regards
Deepak Srivastava

Deepak, many thanks for sharing your experience. This was an eye opener for me. I must say you took the practical way out, and handled the issue maturely. Someone with my tendencies would perhaps have chosen to ride on the moral high horse, which I guess doesn't work for the most part in our 'careening-towards-lawlessness' country. Just curious as to what the scenario could be, if you were to choose to fight it out on principles, legally.

Originally Posted by isiv

I'm in the same boat as you. No contacts of any kind, no legal or illegal muscle power, the educated fool who tries to respect the law, who believes in doing things right, doing the right thing, who gets milked at every step of life. And these 'wise' men to govern us and uphold the law for us. Just makes me hate myself for giving up the option to migrate permanently to a foreign country. When someone pointed out to me that I will always be treated an alien and give

Man, you echo my thoughts totally!! Such incidents evoke the exact same feelings in me.

[samyakmodi]

after reading all these I would strongly recommend having an on dash camera installed in our cars (if not wrong garmin comes with an accessory for their gps) and while going to any police station always have the hidden pen camera in your pocket (recording everything!!)

might make an interesting set of videos where the policewalas would be shown in their true colours (and probably some day would be scared to ask for "fines" and bribes until and unless they are sure of it completely)

[centaur]

Man!!!After reading the posts here and the experiences I
1. Am kinda sacred to drive my car or bike and contemplating travelling by public transport or a cab/rickshaw because I am the last person to have any kinda links in the police or anywhere for that matter
2. Realized never to stop at an accident scene to help (almost did it once but then decided against since I had my wife and mom in the car and its was around 2 in the night) but only call the cops and inform about the accident

After reading about some of the accidents on the forums, I am extra cautious on roads now especially since we are going to welcome a new member at home and I seriously dont want to be ruining my or my family's peace of mind. However in many cases its because of someone elses stupidity that gets others in trouble. I would like to share some experiences from my end as well, maybe it might help others or I can learn from comments if I did anything wrong.

CASE 1: I was once on my way to leave my relatives to their place. It was late at night, around 12-1ish. We were 4 people in the car - me, my wife, aunt and her daughter. I was driving, wife in front passenger seat and the others behind. I always make sure to wear a seat belt as it makes me feel secure and I always advice my wife to do the same if shes in the front. On the way I noticed a full size truck swerving from left to right with no place for me to overtake. I cam slightly to the right and was able to see the road ahead for another 1-2 kms and did not see any vehicle approaching. There were no other lanes which were coming from the left or the right either. So I went on the other side of the road (there was a small bit of a median on the otherwise median less road) and over took the truck.

Seeing this my wife told me why I did this and that I could have been hit by an oncoming vehicle. I replied saying I had checked the road completely and overtook only when sure there was no perceived danger and this was just to avoid a drunk trucker who could cause a lot of damage if he rams into the car (hope I did the right thing here).

On the way I passed a versa which was parked to the side of the road but had occupants inside. Just ignored it and went ahead. Was waiting to take a right turn into the society my aunt lived in. Was stand still for over 5 minutes since there were vehicles coming from the opposite side and also had my indicators on. In first gear, clutch and brake depressed.

Suddenly baammm....and the car skids in front. I realised what happened and came out to see who it was. It was the versa guy (drunk to the hilt) and the impact was so bad that the dzire was crushed to a swift from the rear. All occupants safe and the seat belt saved my wife from hitting the windshield or even worse. People in the rear also safe but with a whiplash pain the next day. The versa guy had bull bars and before I could do anything he sped off, his number plate broken and on the road. Called 100 and told there has been a hit and run case. Immediately took the pics of the car and the site just in case. Some good people stopped to ask me if I needed any help and if everything was okay. I said all was fine and was suggested by my aunt that there is a police station nearby where I could have the complaint registered and in the meanwhile my wife informed my Father In Law (his car). One of the guys who had stopped to help took me to the police station and I told about the accident. A cop came with me to the spot, took all details and asked to come to the police station to give an FIR. After this the patrol team arrived and I told I had already had the cops do the needful.

Start the car and move it to the side since it was in the middle of the road and around the same time FIL and Bro in Law arrive. Tell my FIL about the FIR and about going to the police station. He says just forget it since the cops will only extract money from both the parties and nothing would ever happen. He also mentioned that insurance companies these days dont ask for an FIR in accidental repairs. I forget the FIR and get the car repaired under the insurance without any problems

CASE 2: Was driving home from work and was following another car ahead of me. Saw a green signal and kept driving and unfortunately the distance after the leaving the signal to cleanly move out of the traffic on the left was very long. As is the practice bikers leave the line even before the signal for them is green and this is what exactly happened. The guy in front of me got stuck between the bikers and I too behind him.
Realizing he is in traffic he took a left and went with the traffic but realizing that I did not do anything wrong I calmly reversed to the line to a lot of honking. There were around 8 cops and a few traffic wardens there at that point in time. A cop, around 100-200 meters ahead of me, signals me to move ahead. I keep going and instead of making me park on the left he makes me park right in the middle of the road.

He: Itni jaldi kyun reheti hain aap logon ko (why do you guys hurry so much). License?
Me: (I know the local language and start speaking to him in Marathi) I was just following the vehicle in front and when I left the line it was green

He: But you did cause trouble to the traffic
Me: The guy in front stopped. So what am I supposed to do?

He: Anyway, come pay the fine and go
Me: Why should I pay when I did not break the signal?

He: SO you mean I am lieing?
ME: I am not saying that but just that I did not break the signal and when I left the line it was green and not even yellow

He: Are you paying the fine or should I send it to the court?
Me: I dont mind paying the fine when I wrong but I am a completely law abiding citizen - wear a helmet while driving a two wheeler, have all papers in place including insurance and PUC and everything else. Why dont you pull up the CCTV camera feed and check? If I am at fault I will pay whatever fine you need. (This statement completely put him back)

He: (Giving the license to me) you educated folks are always a problem. Take this and get out of here.
Me: Why dont you check the CCTV feed and I will pay the fine now itself.?

He: we are poor and dont have money to put CCTV
Me: WHy do you need to put it. It should be done by the corporation/government

He: (walking away from me) ya ya now go away, you educated people......

Case 3: Waiting at a signal on my bike. Since its heavy during peak hours, cops themselves at times ask motorists to come from the wrong side of the median to clear the traffic. That day I and a few other motorists came from the wrong side of the median as usual but that day there was a different cop. It was a lady cop. She got right in the middle of the road and started stopping the bikes. All of them ran away but me being a 'law abiding citizen' stopped.

She: License
Gave it to her

She: you were on the wrong side and I am giving you a challan. Give 500 bucks (and starts writing my name on the challan)
Me: Everyday the cop here himself asks us to come from here and today you are suddenly stopping it. Either all of you follow the same rule or dont fine all of the blue one fine morning

She: But you came from the wrong side
Me: Yes and so did many others and its because of the reason I told you. I am a law abiding citizen and dont ever break rules and thats the reason why you are seeing a helmet in my hand right now. Even have the PUC and other documents if you want. Also I have helped cops in the past when they wanted (that is a different episode and not mentioning it here since its OT) and this is what we get after doing all this. You people youself dont know what you are doing. One day you ask us to go and one you fine us for no fault of ours for the same thing.

She: Okay okay. You should have told me this before. now I have written your name on the challan. Just pay 100 and leave.
I pay hundred and leave.

In all these cases I could stand up to them because I was not at fault. Just hoping and praying that I never get into an accident scene ever in my life and likewise for all other people out there.

[hajaar]

After being at the receiving end of a few accidents (bikes etc brushing against my car), I have decided to start using my iphone as a dashcam whenever I drive. Even if there is an accident that happens at the rear or sides of the vehicle, the verbal conversation after that is getting recorded for posterity.

I have found that very few people tend to be polite and/or decent when such things happens (at any economic level of society).

I am also planning to buy either the new garmin dashcam or the gopro to use as a dedicated camera.

[ant_vas]

Very Interesting Topic!

I had this incident happen with me some 6 months back. One day in my office i parked my car at my usual place which is on the left side of the exit road. There is a small speed hump a 2 meters ahead of where i park. This speed hump is the plastic one. as there is some gap on the extreme left side of the speed hump, the 2 wheelers tend to take that gap to avoid going over the hump.

That day i parked my car, saw that there was no one coming before i can open the door. i took a minute extra to collect my mobile, lower the front window (as car is parked in open) and then open the door. all of sudden i hear a crashing sound and when i turn i see a 2 wheeler in trying to avoid the speed hump crashed in to my door.

I immediately get down, lift that guy, make him sit on the side and ask him why did he come extreme left. he said he didn't realize that some one was in the car and the door would be opened. he also said that he had a accident couple months back and a steel rod was put in to his leg and that's where he got hit today again and its paining.

i offered him to take to a hospital and get his x-ray, but he said its ok the pain doesn't appear sever. i inquired about his home and what was he doing in our office premises and then handed him my card and told him if his leg pain doesn't come down he should call me and i shall take him to hospital. so far he was very soft and he was also saying sorry for coming on the left.

I come up to my office and in 15 minutes i get a call from him. He had his sister along with him who worked as RJ in a radio station operating out of the same building as our office. She was all hyper and accusing me that 4 wheelers have no road sense etc etc. Seeing his sister supporting him the guy also started shouting and started to ask me for money.

I showed them my door which was dented and said who will pay for this? the screaming continued and they said either i get their bike repaired (it was TVS wego which has metal body which was dented and indicator broken) or they will go to the police station. I offered to get their bike repaired and they should get my car repaired and we close the matter.

then the lady calls her colleagues and i call mine. funnily, her office colleauges come down look at what has happened and ask that guy: what the hell were you doing on the extreme left side when the entire road was available?

Then they said both go to our respective garage and get our vehicle repaired under insurance. and it was decided to pay the amount not covered by insurance. after 15 days the lady called and said i will have to pay some 2000/- as it was extra amount not provided by insurance. I said i haven't got my car fixed by a rough estimate provided by garage puts the cost to 3000/- she can collect her amount after paying me the mentioned amount! Did not hear from here again

Funny that people think that more the number of wheels the vehicle has more the money that can be made in such cases.

But its better be safe than sorry!

[radkrish_1978]

Thanks for sharing your experience. It gives me information that we need not get panic in police station.

[smarth.katyal]

Originally Posted by centaur

Case 3: Waiting at a signal on my bike. Since its heavy during peak hours, cops themselves at times ask motorists to come from the wrong side of the median to clear the traffic. That day I and a few other motorists came from the wrong side of the median as usual but that day there was a different cop. It was a lady cop. She got right in the middle of the road and started stopping the bikes. All of them ran away but me being a 'law abiding citizen' stopped.

She: License
Gave it to her

She: you were on the wrong side and I am giving you a challan. Give 500 bucks (and starts writing my name on the challan)
Me: Everyday the cop here himself asks us to come from here and today you are suddenly stopping it. Either all of you follow the same rule or dont fine all of the blue one fine morning

She: But you came from the wrong side
Me: Yes and so did many others and its because of the reason I told you. I am a law abiding citizen and dont ever break rules and thats the reason why you are seeing a helmet in my hand right now. Even have the PUC and other documents if you want. Also I have helped cops in the past when they wanted (that is a different episode and not mentioning it here since its OT) and this is what we get after doing all this. You people youself dont know what you are doing. One day you ask us to go and one you fine us for no fault of ours for the same thing.

She: Okay okay. You should have told me this before. now I have written your name on the challan. Just pay 100 and leave.
I pay hundred and leave.

In all these cases I could stand up to them because I was not at fault. Just hoping and praying that I never get into an accident scene ever in my life and likewise for all other people out there.

I think you were at fault in this case. A traffic police calling you and telling you to move from the wrong side is different and you thinking that everyday he tells us to move from the wrong side so he'll do the same today and then moving to the wrong side is a different story. I think you should have accepted the fine(which you did partially) Wrong side is wrong side, and you were on it. You and all others who did that should have been fined. No offense. I say this because i usually cross a red-light junction where earlier a cop used to guide two wheelers to the wrong-side to ease congestion. But now the roads have been widened and two wheelers follow the same trend and it has become a problem for the oncoming traffic.

Originally Posted by ant_vas

That day i parked my car, saw that there was no one coming before i can open the door. i took a minute extra to collect my mobile, lower the front window (as car is parked in open) and then open the door. all of sudden i hear a crashing sound and when i turn i see a 2 wheeler in trying to avoid the speed hump crashed in to my door.

!

I think you should have looked out once more just before opening the door. The biker is at fault he came so close to you. And (i think) you opened the door without having a proper look. So both of you had a role to play in the incident. But you helped him was the best thing to do at that instant. Kudos to that!
Be cautious and drive safe .

[centaur]

Originally Posted by smarth.katyal

I think you were at fault in this case. A traffic police calling you and telling you to move from the wrong side is different and you thinking that everyday he tells us to move from the wrong side so he'll do the same today and then moving to the wrong side is a different story. I think you should have accepted the fine(which you did partially) Wrong side is wrong side, and you were on it. You and all others who did that should have been fined. No offense. I say this because i usually cross a red-light junction where earlier a cop used to guide two wheelers to the wrong-side to ease congestion. But now the roads have been widened and two wheelers follow the same trend and it has become a problem for the oncoming traffic.

Completely agree with you but what happens is that people who want to take a left or want to go straight come from extreme right (wrong side) and has resulted in crashes in the past. Also the people are asked to come from the other side of the divider only when all other signals are red and there is no traffic from any other lanes. However it was never right and as a matter of fact I always used to go on the right side irrespective of the cop but for that unfatefull day. That was the first and last day I went from that side at any place and now no matter even if the cops ask me to or if I am getting late, I always go from the correct side only to be stopped by people on the wrong side

[jeepster_chd]

Case 1: is not about any accident but it is essentially about a “vain” effort made to avoid a catastrophe waiting to happen .i.e. Case 2.

I live in Mohali, PB, near Chandigarh in a relatively new locality that came into existence some 4 to 5 years back. The incident dates back to April 2012. Adjacent to the locality is a 200 feet wide road which we have to cross on a daily basis while going for work, market and other day to day activities. There is a traffic signal to make the crossing easier or maybe not.

I never saw anyone halting at that particular traffic signal as well as on the other 3 traffic signals on that road. I observed the pattern for 3 long years till I decided to do something about it. In April 2012, I wrote an email to the Punjab Police (got their email ID from their website) and introduced them to each and every light point down that road and the number of accidents that have happened or are waiting to happen at these traffic junctions and also to the apathy their local Traffic Police counterparts have shown to this new locality.

The email was sent on 5th of April 2012 to which I got no response. I waited and waited and waited till it was too late.

Case 2: On 11th May 2012 my wife was going to her office on her scooter, reached this signal, some 300 meters away from our home, and the moment it turned green she began crossing it and when she reached in the middle of it a truck coming from her left hit her at a very high speed.

The trucker didn’t bother to stop and dragged the scooter for some 100 odd meters. My wife was somewhat lucky as upon the impact she fell away from the truck though was grievously injured. Someone ferried her to the hospital in semi-conscious condition, she was wearing a helmet which was crushed on impact but saved her life. She had a broken collar bone, got 8 stitches on her head and a number of bruises all over her body.
To my surprise for the entire day when I was on her side in the hospital, no one from the police approached us, no one, no phone call and nothing. Though, the police was intelligent enough to impound the vehicles involved in the accident along with hand bag of my wife found at the accident spot. While we were in the hospital, I realized that I needed cash and then my heart sank as I had that very morning given close to 20k to my wife to get it deposited in the bank and what I had in my pocket was only couple of hundred rupees.

We do not normally anticipate bad things happening to us.

I immediately rushed my brother in law to the accident spot to look for her bag which had cash. He reached there to find nothing, inquired from people around and they told police has taken everything into their custody. He went to the nearest police station and came to know that the police personnel there knew nothing about the accident. He was shocked. But ultimately, he was able to locate the police station which happened to be close to the hospital where my wife was admitted to and not the accident spot.
The police personnel even after his repeated requests and arguments simply denied to part with the bag containing cash. My brother in law called me and as the emotions were running high and that helpless feeling within filled me with a rage inside. I asked him to give the phone to the person responsible there (SHO). I asked him that instead of helping us why he is making our lives miserable, why can’t he ask for my brother in law’s identity proof and match with my wife’s ID to make sure they are brother-sister (same father’s name) and upon verification hand him over the bag with cash. My anger and logic worked and he counted the cash, got couple of documents signed and let my brother in law leave the police station with cash.

All this happened; still no police personnel reached hospital to record the statement or to identify the victim. While I was in the hospital with my wife who was now after couple of hours coming back to her senses, I was approached by few people, who were curious to know about her condition. I knew they were the people responsible for her condition. I just didn’t want to talk to anyone at that moment; I knew it might end up in a fight with them.

I was angered about everything that happened to my family that day. We followed all the laws, even bothered for others (reason why I contacted Punjab Police a month ago), did all the charities in this world and still suffered at the hands of destiny? It was like why me?

In the evening, doctors were ready to discharge her and seeing her condition improve I felt immense relief and thanked God for saving her and my just started family life (my daughter was just 8 months old at that time).

As we were leaving the hospital those people (the accused one’s-3 in number) at the hospital again approached me and I just shooed them away saying that I do not want to talk to them at the moment. They then approached my brother in law and talked to him about compensation to which he denied saying that his sister is fine and he doesn’t needs anything. This enraged me further as I didn’t want to let loose these people, no way.

We came home, and were followed to home by these 3 well-built gentlemen. I took my wife inside, helped her lie down (broken collar bone is worse than any other fracture). In the meantime, these 3 guys were able to influence my dad, my dad in law and brother in law that they were big time contractors and supplier for film shootings in Punjab and there driver was on his way to the shooting site when my wife suddenly came in front of his truck. Which was totally wrong, neither my wife suddenly crossed the road, it was only when her signal turned green that she turned on the ignition and crossed the road nor it was that the truck’s signal suddenly turned red, it was red all the while.
These guys were trying to influence us in every possible way, why? Because their truck stood there at the police station with the entire load that needed to be delivered. I was about to join the conversation when my phone rang. It was the SHO on the other side. He said, how came you left the hospital without informing us. I asked him was I supposed to inform him and why? His ego was hurt and he raised his voice saying do not act smart it is no one’s fault, accidents just happen. He said take your wife along to police station to record her statement.

What?

I asked him in the rudest way possible, did he took her to the hospital, did he bothered to come once down to the hospital to inquire about the condition of the victim? He said, there is a match in Mohali (PCA stadium) and we are already occupied there so do not have much time to do all this. This resulted in a heated verbal exchange and I in an attempt to calm myself and not to further the matter I disconnected the phone.
After all, my temper may be short but I am a mango man, who needs to take leave (paid and unpaid) for every court visit, visit to police station and visit to hospital. So it is better to stay away from both uniformed and gundas in civil dress.

Came out of my room and realized everyone was waiting for me in the drawing room. My dad realized that I was not in a good mood and he calmly signaled me stay cool.
When the 3 guys seating in my home, whom my family treated with tea and biscuits realized that it was hard to tackle me, they started right away with the question “How much you want?”

In fact, I wanted the court to strictly punish them but it was going to take ages, I knew that. So I asked them to pay me at least 1 lac rupees as damages for everything. The matter was settled in 40k + they were to take care of the expenses at police station + they were to get our scooter released and repaired.

They did.

I took the cash and as family had suggested visited couple of temples, orphanages and old age homes along with my wife and kid in my city and evenly distributed the money. It was a great feeling.

Latter, the policeman (SHO) with whom I had argued over the phone, came to my place, was very humble by this time, took my wife’s statement and left.

Case 2.1: On 15th May 2012, 4 days after my wife’s accident, I forwarded the emails I had earlier sent on to the traffic Punjab Police website to the official email ID of IG Punjab Police. I added to the emails the fact that if they would have taken care of the issues raised by me earlier, my wife would never ever have met with the accident. I held them responsible and urged them to take some action otherwise I would seek justice from the court.

It took one more week but this time they acknowledged the receipt of my emails. After this couple of months passed by when I first received a call from the office of DSP Traffic that they wanted to take my statement regarding the issues I have raised. But owning to my professional commitments it wasn’t possible for me to visit them in person.

Latter, they sent their ASI from Traffic department to my place along with some other police personnel to my place to take my statement. I simply signed the copies of my emails they were carrying saying that this is statement and asked them to update me on regularly on what the is the status of my complaint.

This time, the police personnel were very humble, thanked me for the courageous step (they thought) I have taken and even shared their problem why they haven’t yet deployed any police personnel on the traffic junctions I had pointed out to.

They said the hiring of the police personnel is done by some other department (may be by the DC, I do not remember exactly) not by the police itself and so even after their repeated requests for more police power no one answered their call for action. The concerned department reverted saying when public doesn’t asks for more police personnel why are they themselves are so much concerned. The ASI told me that as my concern has been raised at a high level, they will be sending the documents signed by me to the concerned department (DC) and have the police personnel deployed at the traffic junctions I had asked for.

It worked, even though, the traffic conditions are still not up to the mark but the police personnel do man the light points (couple of days in a week) and also chalan people disobeying the lights and for other violations.

Recently, they offered me to join them as voluntary Traffic Marshal to which I haven’t given a though yet.

There are a couple of more incidents where I have messed up (in a right sense) with people in power as well as government officials in public service and most of the times I have been able to help them realize what they are supposed to and what they have been doing.

“When the going gets tough, the tough gets going.” It is all about sticking to what is right and being ready to take all the pain that comes your way.

Just my two cents.