[ramzsys]

So looks like a dashcam is a must have accessory. Let me prioritize it over the alloy wheels for my next expense.

[manjubp]

@Soumyajit9:

While this is very unfortunate incidence, we are also indirectly responsible for continuation of these scams. While we all love to in discuss these issues on team-bhp and increasing the awareness of the community, most of us will not take a small step to file a complaint with Bangalore Traffic Police(BTP) on facebook. Almost all the time my issues has been addressed by BTP.

The system do work, you may have to give as much details as possible. My humble request to all is to inform the BTP with details, things do improve.

PS: I don;t have anything to do with BTP, nor I am employed at BTP

[ad3952n]

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9

I became the latest victim of an accident scam.
He says that I ran over the attendant's foot, so I should take him to the hospital or pay him 1000 bucks for treatment !! The attendant shows me his chappal, one of whos strap has been neatly cut. He says that the wheel tore his chappal and broke his feet

Soumyajit, Its good that you calmly addressed the entire issue. All the more because the family was with you. But you know what these type of cartoons should be given a sound lesson in their own mannerism. If this type situation ever cropped up with me and my driver, the first thing I would have done would be opened up my shoe and executed the right thing there and then.

If I would have been at your place and this moron dealt with me in this way, I am telling you, he would have received a tight slap from me along with 10-15 chappals there itself so that all his alcoholic influence would vanish and he would think 10 times prior to repeating this type of drama.

Thanks

[Ohh!Oxygen]

This reminds me of an instance more than 5 years ago at Majestic bus stand.
The Mantri mall near Maleswaram has started operating. My wife had a taste for Taco Bell from her US days and we decided to try out the one in Mantri Mall which was the first in Bangalore.
We had some out of town visitors and we started off on two cars. Me driving one and my wife taking wheels on the other once. Since I knew roads better, I was the pilot.
Folks visiting Mantri Mall know very well the dilemma of traffic and parking in the initial days. I had to park in the nearby locality a km away and stand for one hour in Taco Bell line with a token .
Anyways Mall trip done, burritos digested , cars taken out and next stop was a govt quarter near City railway station.
We had to join the limping bus ramp queue towards Majestic from Malleswaram and get out on the city railway station side (same exit for all BMTC buses). Bangalore fellas know how easy it is to get lost on those never ending loops.
Anyways we were on the right track and Wifey was 2-3 cars behind me. It was at least 4-5 signal cycles before you complete the ramp.
Suddenly she calls me to come near her car. With no other drivers in the car, I had to cross the junction, park on the other side and come back. By the time I reach people have gathered around the car with one fella sitting on my front bumper.
He claims in local language (which I understand a little bit) that the car has run over his left foot. Two of his fingers were bleeding. When I looked at my better half dismay, all members in the car swore that he fell down on a perfectly stationary car.
Moment of despair.
A crowd of 10 folks and a traffic cop have also gathered. To add more masala to the drama, the guy was also accompanied by a lady. One guy in the crowd was very vocal and abusing me in Hindi saying that you guys seating in AC cars don't even look at who is walking on the road and he was very annoying.
First thing I did was to tell the cop to disperse the crowd and told him that I will see what is wrong and take take care of the guy if my wife is at fault. Cop was very help full and scolded the outspoken guy to mind his own business and the crowd became thinner.
When I approached the guy, his stance was not at all convincing and he smelt some serious booze. Looking at the circumstance, I again offered to take him to hospital since his fingers were bleeding. I gathered my courage and took the first aid kit from my car and began dressing his wound and wrap a bandage.
I took a closer look at the wound I was very sure that it can never happen if a car runs over. The guy was too drunk to utter a single meaningful word and kept on murmuring and resisting when I was dressing his wound. Then his wife spoke to a translator and the gentleman told me that they need money. I profusely refused and told that "lets call the cops and I will take him to hospital". Finally the traffic cop intervened once again and I paid whatever change I had in my wallet at that time (150 bucks) and the guy vanished.

This is the closest I have ever been to a public lynching and my wifey never sets her foot on a Taco Bell even if one of them is 500 mtrs away from my home.
The traffic wala told me that its common stunt and he has seen plenty.
Anyways lesson learnt. Take public transport if you go closer to Majestic bus stand.

[Soumyajit9]

Originally Posted by D4D

A friend parked his KTM D390 in Brigade road in the designated spot. When we were leaving, a man walks up to us and demands Rs.10. We say there is no parking fee for the spot(which was true) and demanded a receipt.He gave an excuse that he has run out of receipts. We indicate that we'll ask the cop(who was close by) and pay him if the cop tells us to. He walked away the moment we mentioned the word "cop."

Similar experience in Jayanagar BDA Complex parking. Apart from the basement parking under the BDA Complex, there used to be parking space for 4 wheelers on the front side of the complex, the place where bikes are parked these days. So I didn't like to park in the shady basement and hence drove on the other side and parked my car on the other side. After coming back from shopping, the parking attendant asks me money, so I ask him receipt. He replies saying that this is only a bike parking zone and not a 4 wheeler parking, so he doesn't have receipt. I said if this was a 2 wheeler parking only, then he should not have allowed me, or atleast told me to go away. He guided me to park illegaly, and now he demands money without receipt. And he asked me some 50 bucks for 1 hour. This got me angry, had a big argument with him and paid 30 bucks (nominal parking fees) and left.

Originally Posted by ramzsys

So looks like a dashcam is a must have accessory. Let me prioritize it over the alloy wheels for my next expense.

Absolutely, with lowlives all around, to prove your innocence, dashcam is the only solution.

Originally Posted by manjubp

@Soumyajit9:
While this is very unfortunate incidence, we are also indirectly responsible for continuation of these scams......

I agree with you, however, I don't think that BTP would be of any assistance here. The correct people are Bangalore Police, but they are more painful to deal with, than BTP. I do post on BTP FB Pages on traffic issues and violations.

Originally Posted by ad3952n

Soumyajit, Its good that you calmly addressed the entire issue. All the more because the family was with you. But you know what these type of cartoons should be given a sound lesson in their own mannerism...

True Akash, I would have probably had a fist to fist with this lowlife if my family weren't there. I got scared for the safety of my family. So I kept my cool and tried to get out of the situation without any noise.

Originally Posted by Ohh!Oxygen

Anyways lesson learnt. Take public transport if you go closer to Majestic bus stand.

Or rather choose a different Taco Bell outlet.
Btw, there is one close to my home near Jaydeva Flyover.

[ank.nsit]

Around few years back, my dad used to say 'the rate at which crime in India is increasing, that day is not far when innocent people will be looted in broad daylight in public. It will be tough for common man to even leave his house.'
I am afraid that day is here so soon.
This is an incident that happened at around 1:00PM in heavy traffic on outer ring road, New Delhi, just close to Nehru Place (a very crowded and dense commercial place).

While coming from Airport towards Nehru Place yesterday, my brother was stuck behind a doctor's(red cross) Honda City in a traffic jam, when he noticed a man coming from nowhere and fiddling with the city's passenger side rear tyre with his foot. Before my bro could even realize what's happening, that guy acted as if the the tyre stepped over his foot and the goon completely fell over the left side of the car banging and shouting that the car had stepped over him.
Bro could not see if the goon had a scale or some kind of magnet or what but being so close to the car, the goon somehow was able to open the door's lock from outside. The doctor inside was hurriedly closing the lock as soon as the goon was opening it.
Before my bro could even think what to do, two other goons who were hiding behind the trees on the pavement suddenly appeared, banging the doctor's driver side door incessantly asking him to open and come out.
The doctor inside was smart and did not divert his attention from the goon opening the door lock. Now when my brother realized that this was actually happening right in front of his eyes, he started honking. This somewhat deterred the goons and to the doctor's luck the traffic kind of opened up and all the guys just went away.

God knows what would they have done had they been able to get into doctor's car.

Hearing all this we all are still in shock. None can actually believe that this happened at 1:00PM on one of the main busy roads in one of the most busiest areas of Delhi.

I don't really know what will happen in the future. How will we actually be able to leave our houses, not knowing where and when we will be attacked.
How can we let our wives/sisters be alone even during daytime, when we are not sure even of our own safety?

I think the main reason for these thugs attacking in public is due to our general nature of not getting involved in such brawls. These goons which constitute less than 5% of population gets the courage to attack the 95% population because there is no empathy among the larger masses. Everyone just thinks about himself. None cares what happens to others as long as his ends are meeting. Also, everyone cares for his life. Even if someone wants to do something, he is too scared to actually do it.

What do you guys think should be done if one is a victim or a witness of such an attack?

[Ajitsingh208]

What your brother saw has been happening on Delhi roads since a long time. I myself have seen a group just after the moolchand Underpass and at AIIMS. I saved a person sometime back by honking at him to tell him not to unlock his car.
I even called up at 100 and told them about this incident, got few follow up calls after that since I had to reach office so could not wait there. They asked me for the description and that was it.
This has been discussed plenty of times on this forum too.

[anshul26]

Originally Posted by ank.nsit

Even if someone wants to do something, he is too scared to actually do it.

You are very right. It was the doctors strong resistance that stopped the goons from taking the risk of robbery or extorting money.

Originally Posted by ank.nsit

What do you guys think should be done if one is a victim or a witness of such an attack?

Now what to do if you witness any such incident on road?

Whenever you can please do help strangers in need.
I remember once at red signal women driving a Verna just touched the a guy's scooter and he was really after her, using bad words and misbehaving with her badly. I just got out of my car (on the left of women's Verna) and gave a really bad look to the guy on scooter and intervened. Seeing my height, weight and anger he backed off.

My 2 cents:

1. When faced with adversity, be bold. Most goons look for easy targets, not the ones who are brave, strong and ready to pull up there sleeves.
As you yourself said even they are scared to actually do it.

2. In case of accident or road rage always keep your cool and try to calm down the other person if he is aggressive.

3. Even if you own legal arms don't carry them around in your car's dashboard. Keeping a gun in car even for your safety can be a double edged sword. Keep a pepper spray. They immobilize the other guy without causing any damage.

4. When driving keep the all doors/windows locked.

5. When driving alone and not using AC don't roll down the passenger side window.

7. Don't carry all your debit and credit cards in your wallet. Maintain a separate account with limited balance say Rs 10-15k and carry it's card only.

8. If someone wants car at gun point, just smile and hand over the keys. DON'T RESIST AT ALL.

Understand that some goons can get really nasty.If you think the other guy can go to any extent then its better to surrender. Life is far more precious than cars and few bucks in the wallet.

[jagzrk]

Originally Posted by anshul26

3. Even if you own legal arms don't carry them around in your car's dashboard. Keeping a gun in car even for your safety can be a double edged sword. Keep a pepper spray. They immobilize the other guy without causing any damage.

Having read all these incidents, I've given pepper spray cans to all ladies in my family. Thankfully, none of us faced anything like this.

But please be sure to educate them not to leave it in the car especially in daylight. These cans are pressurized and a little bit of heat can make them go burst even when slightly touched / moved especially when people get back in the car. Best to keep it in the purse outer pocket for ladies and remind them to never ever ever (Arnab Goswami Style) leave it in the car. Well, location for gents, we've have to figure it out

[kiran_cr]

Originally Posted by manjubp

@Soumyajit9:

While this is very unfortunate incidence, we are also indirectly responsible for continuation of these scams. While we all love to in discuss these issues on team-bhp and increasing the awareness of the community, most of us will not take a small step to file a complaint with Bangalore Traffic Police(BTP) on facebook. Almost all the time my issues has been addressed by BTP.

The system do work, you may have to give as much details as possible. My humble request to all is to inform the BTP with details, things do improve.

PS: I don;t have anything to do with BTP, nor I am employed at BTP

I have seen similar incidents at Koramangala Sony World Signal 1 year back and posted the same on BTP facebook page. It did have an immediate effect. I didnt fid those scam-stars from that day onwards.

[hellmet]

Happened just now. I'm on my way home on my motorcycle, just a few km away from home in fact. Two guys on a motorcycle start to tailgate me very close. Soon they drove up by my side as we ride along and they start shouting/blaming me for something. I slow down and ask them "What happened?" and they say they fell down and I was the reason for that. Then they repeat in English "We fall down because of you" or something like that. Before I ask them more questions (remember we're still riding alongside each other), they moved in very close, braked and forced me to a stop.

Ideally, I'd have left more space to the vehicle in front, but they stopped too suddenly. One of them jumps from the vehicle and they appeared to be ready for confrontation. I, on the other hand, was in no mood for any such thing (I never am - I cannot engage in a verbal or a physical confrontation). I backed up my motorcycle, and proceeded in my direction at a normal pace again, although slightly in fear not knowing what this was all about.

These guys were not your routine you-and-me kinds. They looked like the kind that was used to "trouble". Also, neither these guys nor the bike showed any sign of a "fall". I was also driving soberly today and was seriously thinking if I could have been the reason for anybody's fall - did I brake suddenly, did I cut somebody in, etc, but couldn't recollect any such thing for the entire commute.

These thoughts were running in my head when suddenly they appear again and say "Baat karre na?" (We were talking,no?), while again forcing me to stop. This time, I take a U and head straight to a nearby intersection in search of a traffic police. These guys followed me but then passed through after realizing I was in no mood for talking (or maybe they didn't want to deal with the police). So I waited for a while and took an alternate route to go home.

Overall, this felt like more of a scam than truth. If by any chance they really did fall and it was my fault, then, guys, I'm sorry.

What do you guys think of this?

[Rajeevraj]

There is a big thread on 'Mugging on Bangalore roads'. The modus operandi is similar to what you experienced, attempting to stop you by saying you hit them or made them fall etc.. Since you do not recall being anywhere close to hitting anyone, looks to be a similar scam. Although here it was mostly bike guys targeting cars.

You did the right thing by ignoring and riding away. Based on the experiences in the Bangalore thread, they attempt to take advantage of your fear and if they don't see that, more often than not they back away.

[Rehaan]

Cross-linking to an existing thread (into which this thread will soon be merged) :

Link

[supremeBaleno]

Remember reading about this scam on the Bangalore thread. Looks like some enterprising folks have imported the technique into Telengana.
I remember worrying about when all the Bangalore scams would hit Chennai - fortunately not till date. But then it is a small world & only a matter of time before that happens.

[deemash]

This is really scary! One should be bold enough to tackle these guys. For me, it will be 100% difficult