Bad Experience with Police check post

esteemer · 15th August 2009, 15:39

This happened sometime back last year. We(me and my family). were returning back to Jamnagar from Diu, after a brief holiday. As soon as we got out of the main city area, there was this huge gate sort of an entry/exit, type of a check post. While entering the city, we had stopped to let them check the car, but the person had said that the check was only for taxis and other commercial vehicles. This time, we decided to stop only if the policeman signals to do so. There's a fairly long queue of vehicles infront of us. Finally we reach up to the place the policeman is standing, and he casually turns away from us to spit out paan. Dad slowed the car down but then since the policeman showed no interest, he took it as a nod to move ahead, and so he did. Now the car has moved about 5-8 metres from the place and we suddenly hear a loud cry from the same person. Dad immediately stopped the car at the side of the road. He was just opening his window to see what the matter is, and suddenly, the policeman comes up and himself opens the door and says,"Achha, peeke gaadi chalate ho??". We were like, what in the world he talking about?? He asks dad to step out which he immediately does. The policeman puts his head inside and starts roughly shoving all our things, searching for liquor. Now,the twist-- The very same day, we had actually bought a Kingfisher can to try it out,

for the first ever time in our lives, but let me clear this that we had no intentions to even open the can before reaching home.

He finds it, and says," To ye kya hai??" Dad starts explaining, but he is not ready to listen and orders him to come to the cabin with him. After about five minutes, he comes back without Dad and asks us to open the boot. We do so, and he starts badly upsetting all our luggage. I really felt like just pressing the boot lid down on his neck. He finds nothing, and then goes back, asking us to sit inside the car.

After about 15 min, Dad came back and told what had happened inside- The policeman had asked him for Rs. 10000, but Dad had said that he currently didn't have that much. And so, the policeman had come back again to search for money, not liquor. Finally he had settled for Rs. 2500, and the shocking thing-- As dad starts coming back to the car, the policeman, who himself appeared drunk, offered him the can again

. Dad asked him to keep it with himself.

We weren't knowing much about all these rules in Gujarat, and had thought that the police can't object to just carrying the mild beer. Well, yes, part of it may be a mistake from our side but just remembering the incident and that "policeman's" behaviour ups my temperature.

gonewithwind · 15th August 2009, 15:53

Pity that your family had to face that situation.
I think every travellers have such experieces in India.

phamilyman · 15th August 2009, 18:43

Its honestly your mistake to have kept anything in view. Bikers happily carry away oodles of stuff in saddle bags!

Its like expecting a crocodile not to attack because you're vegetarian!

Why the policemen are that way is open to debate and idealism but that is the reality and does not change. I'm surprised you didn't realize that earlier - they check almost all 4 wheel vehicles - customary poke head in door dog style and RX bikes. You wouldn't have escaped even if your dad had not moved.

But seriously, why'd you keep the can with you - didn't you see other vehicles being checked when you'd entered/were in the queue?

bonobashi · 15th August 2009, 20:24

I'm awfully sorry to say this, but ignorance of the law is not an excuse.

Nitin · 15th August 2009, 20:40

Just a bad experience,so keep it aside and forget about it.Just goes to say that when you travel and come in contact with such characters,you have to go the extra mile and be very careful. Cops love to squeeze every penny out from your pockets,and thats what they do best. Its upto us to be cautious.
Again,this is bound to happen no matter where you go.

hvkumar · 15th August 2009, 22:04

I had an encounter with GJ cops in April after Abu Road on the way to Palanpur. They searched my car thoroughly for liquor (I was alone), were very gentle with the luggage, asked lots of questions, but were very courteous and on finding no bottles, let me go without any further issue.

On the other hand, I have had horrible experiences with TN and PB cops. I remember being stopped at Conoor by the cop who insisted that I was driving a taxi (my own Scorpio) without a permit and demanded Rs 5,000. I told him some unmentionables and had to throw up some local connections to get him off my back. Needless to say, I have had the worst experiences in TN and PB, on several occasions.

vdiatech · 15th August 2009, 22:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by hvkumar

On the other hand, I have had horrible experiences with TN and PB cops. I remember being stopped at Conoor by the cop who insisted that I was driving a taxi (my own Scorpio) without a permit and demanded Rs 5,000. I told him some unmentionables and had to throw up some local connections to get him off my back. Needless to say, I have had the worst experiences in TN and PB, on several occasions.

Hi do you speak Tamil ? Yes, I agree TN Cops are very corrupt but dont harass you (in my experience and opinion) unless you lack some documents (DL/RC/INSURANCE) etc or you have had a couple of drinks or dont speak the local language. They harass people a lot when attitude is thrown at them!
I have been driving in TN for over 12 years and never had bad experience with cops, other than the odd few 50rs or 100rs here and there

I am sure, cops are corrupt all over India and dont miss a chance to fleece innocent people !

aaggoswami · 15th August 2009, 22:26

The UT present in Gujarat ( I am having border with Gujarat ) are bad place. Next in the line is Porbandar city and then comes the Alang ship breaking yard.

All these places are known for notorious people and usually the inspectors that are at duty on checkposts are the one to suffer. One senior will ask him to let a car pass. If at all some incidence occurs ( of catching some liquor coming into gujarat ), another official will blast at the one who was on duty and the senior who let the car pass. Every two months we have to travel through porbandar ( generally by dad and mom in Baleno ). We make sure that we never have to stop in that city.
Preparation includes some food prepared by mom and packed for jounery ( dad has habit of carrying soap with him in car since President days ).

Next time beware of these areas. A'bad, Vadodara, Rajkot, Bhavnanagar and some saurashtra are good places where issue with cops is generally not high. Surat is again bad ( remember the tuition going girl incident, the guys are out on bail ).
Gujarat is a state where many are traders. They are notorious and end up increasing corruption. The service class is very good here.

Sorry for the long post but wanted to give a glimpse from my experience of travelling in gujarat.

hvkumar · 15th August 2009, 22:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by vdiatech

Hi do you speak Tamil ? Yes, I agree TN Cops are very corrupt but dont harass you (in my experience and opinion) unless you lack some documents (DL/RC/INSURANCE) etc or you have had a couple of drinks or dont speak the local language. They harass people a lot when attitude is thrown at them!
I have been driving in TN for over 12 years and never had bad experience with cops, other than the odd few 50rs or 100rs here and there

I am sure, cops are corrupt all over India and dont miss a chance to fleece innocent people !

The mistake I made was to talk in fluent Tamil - and said I was from Bombay, so he thought I was some Tamil taxi driver from Dharavi slums in Bombay. No airs, I said that I would be happy to introduce him to my family who was sitting in my car, showed him my credit cards, PAN cards, etc, and had to finally remind him that I was a guest of a big man in a bungalow in Conoor. I rarely lose my cool with cops, and remained courteous all the while. Local language does help, especially in MH, but I have always found TN cops (I have driven all over India and seen all kinds of cops) easily the worst, along with PB. If you drive in the southern districts close to the coast (say, the Ramanathapuram-Sikkal-Tuticorin-Tiruchendur-Kanyakumari road), all out-of-state cars (like mine) are stopped selectively, questioned on our LTTE credentials(!!!????), made to enter our horsoscopes (@#$%&*) in a register and reluctantly allowed through - not in one CP, but in 2 or 3! Not to forget the "chai paani" I have never faced any such harassment in any West Indian, East Indian or Central Indian State. I always warn anyone from outside TN to be specially cautious of TN cops.

And my documents were always in perfect order, and I was not speeding, drunk or breaking any road rules.

The true test of any State's cops is when you are driving an out-of-state vehicle.

...and I have been driving in TN since 1986.

vdiatech · 15th August 2009, 22:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by hvkumar

. If you drive in the southern districts close to the coast (say, the Ramanathapuram-Sikkal-Tuticorin-Tiruchendur-Kanyakumari road), all out-of-state cars (like mine) are stopped selectively, questioned on our LTTE credentials(!!!????), made to enter our horsoscopes (@#$%&*) in a register and reluctantly allowed through - not in one CP, but in 2 or 3! s.

Could the recent terror strikes or terror alert, war in lanka be the reason for this. Also, the belt you mentioned is probably a hot spot for traffic to and fro Srilanka. I know they stepped overboard when they asked you to enter details in register despite you showing them your credentials.
It happens a lot, the cops, esp during the nights maintain a log of cars/people passing by just to keep a tab/record in case some incidents happen ! I drive a lot in the nights, and the local cops, enter my details every night in their register. This is part of their job !

Also, I did forget for a moment that you were in other state reg vehicle. Sorry about that. I know the feeling. I face a lot of harassment in Mumbai in my TN registered car. MH, KA, AP I have faced problems, unnecessary harrasment. Cops in Kerala are surprisingly less harassing.

9tMax · 15th August 2009, 23:08

Didn't know that TN cops were so bad. In 2007, on the way to Pondicherry I navigated through Chennai with the help of the Accented cops only. And I was in my AP vehicle. They were quite helpful all through out. We were there in Chennai also for a couple of days at that time but didn't face any kind of problem.

Car&me · 15th August 2009, 23:28

I am driving for the past 17 years in TN and AP and some abroad as well.

I have never faced any harrasment in TN. But I had my own share in AP, when I was driving with TN plates in AP. In 2 weeks I paid 2500 in 6 different occassions, when my company was working with the agent to pay the road tax. No explanation could make them understand that I am only 3 weeks old in AP.

NevGin · 15th August 2009, 23:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by vdiatech

Also, I did forget for a moment that you were in other state reg vehicle. Sorry about that. I know the feeling. I face a lot of harassment in Mumbai in my TN registered car. MH, KA, AP I have faced problems, unnecessary harrasment. Cops in Kerala are surprisingly less harassing.

I have had a torrid time in the past crossing from Kerala intoTamilnadu. The TN border cops were trying to find faults that never existed. They finally relented after 45 mins as they had nothing more they could do to halt my progress.

phamilyman · 15th August 2009, 23:53

My personal worst experience with cops was in Maharashtra (NH8). They were just lining up all non-state vehicles at the border. Seeing poor biker me, they stopped.

I didn't have original RC or DL on me then, so they harassed (year before that, i'd lost DL in pickpocketing so never carried originals after that time). Finally after wasting half an hour and realizing i was a broke biker, they let me pass.

esteemer · 16th August 2009, 07:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by phamilyman

But seriously, why'd you keep the can with you - didn't you see other vehicles being checked when you'd entered/were in the queue?

Yes, Sir, I very much agree that we were at mistake, not knowing the rules. And yes, I also agree that the policeman was just doing his duty to make roads safer, BUT the thing is, I forgot mentioning this, he was stopping only the trucks and other H.C.V.s, letting all other taxis to pass (there were no private vehicles around), and also he and the other officers around were drunk.

Had the policeman been a touch more civilized and had he not offered back the can, I would have had no other choice but to salute him and the good work he was doing. I guess this is the case all over India.

15th August 2009, 15:39	#1
esteemer BHPian Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: New Delhi Posts: 139 Thanked: 25 Times	Bad Experience with Police check post This happened sometime back last year. We(me and my family). were returning back to Jamnagar from Diu, after a brief holiday. As soon as we got out of the main city area, there was this huge gate sort of an entry/exit, type of a check post. While entering the city, we had stopped to let them check the car, but the person had said that the check was only for taxis and other commercial vehicles. This time, we decided to stop only if the policeman signals to do so. There's a fairly long queue of vehicles infront of us. Finally we reach up to the place the policeman is standing, and he casually turns away from us to spit out paan. Dad slowed the car down but then since the policeman showed no interest, he took it as a nod to move ahead, and so he did. Now the car has moved about 5-8 metres from the place and we suddenly hear a loud cry from the same person. Dad immediately stopped the car at the side of the road. He was just opening his window to see what the matter is, and suddenly, the policeman comes up and himself opens the door and says,"Achha, peeke gaadi chalate ho??". We were like, what in the world he talking about?? He asks dad to step out which he immediately does. The policeman puts his head inside and starts roughly shoving all our things, searching for liquor. Now,the twist-- The very same day, we had actually bought a Kingfisher can to try it out, for the first ever time in our lives, but let me clear this that we had no intentions to even open the can before reaching home. He finds it, and says," To ye kya hai??" Dad starts explaining, but he is not ready to listen and orders him to come to the cabin with him. After about five minutes, he comes back without Dad and asks us to open the boot. We do so, and he starts badly upsetting all our luggage. I really felt like just pressing the boot lid down on his neck. He finds nothing, and then goes back, asking us to sit inside the car. After about 15 min, Dad came back and told what had happened inside- The policeman had asked him for Rs. 10000, but Dad had said that he currently didn't have that much. And so, the policeman had come back again to search for money, not liquor. Finally he had settled for Rs. 2500, and the shocking thing-- As dad starts coming back to the car, the policeman, who himself appeared drunk, offered him the can again. Dad asked him to keep it with himself. We weren't knowing much about all these rules in Gujarat, and had thought that the police can't object to just carrying the mild beer. Well, yes, part of it may be a mistake from our side but just remembering the incident and that "policeman's" behaviour ups my temperature. Last edited by esteemer : 15th August 2009 at 15:43.
	() Thanks

15th August 2009, 15:53	#2
gonewithwind BHPian Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Trivandrum Posts: 143 Thanked: 5 Times	Pity that your family had to face that situation. I think every travellers have such experieces in India.
	() Thanks

15th August 2009, 18:43	#3
phamilyman Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 5,968 Thanked: 4,642 Times	Its honestly your mistake to have kept anything in view. Bikers happily carry away oodles of stuff in saddle bags! Its like expecting a crocodile not to attack because you're vegetarian! Why the policemen are that way is open to debate and idealism but that is the reality and does not change. I'm surprised you didn't realize that earlier - they check almost all 4 wheel vehicles - customary poke head in door dog style and RX bikes. You wouldn't have escaped even if your dad had not moved. But seriously, why'd you keep the can with you - didn't you see other vehicles being checked when you'd entered/were in the queue?
	() Thanks

15th August 2009, 20:24	#4
bonobashi BHPian Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Dera Bassi, Hyd Posts: 65 Thanked: 4 Times	I'm awfully sorry to say this, but ignorance of the law is not an excuse.
	() Thanks

15th August 2009, 20:40	#5
Nitin Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 3,294 Thanked: 20 Times View My Garage	Just a bad experience,so keep it aside and forget about it.Just goes to say that when you travel and come in contact with such characters,you have to go the extra mile and be very careful. Cops love to squeeze every penny out from your pockets,and thats what they do best. Its upto us to be cautious. Again,this is bound to happen no matter where you go.
	() Thanks

15th August 2009, 22:04	#6
hvkumar Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 7,369 Thanked: 3,454 Times	I had an encounter with GJ cops in April after Abu Road on the way to Palanpur. They searched my car thoroughly for liquor (I was alone), were very gentle with the luggage, asked lots of questions, but were very courteous and on finding no bottles, let me go without any further issue. On the other hand, I have had horrible experiences with TN and PB cops. I remember being stopped at Conoor by the cop who insisted that I was driving a taxi (my own Scorpio) without a permit and demanded Rs 5,000. I told him some unmentionables and had to throw up some local connections to get him off my back. Needless to say, I have had the worst experiences in TN and PB, on several occasions.
	() Thanks

15th August 2009, 22:26	#8
aaggoswami Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2007 Location: Vadodara Posts: 4,982 Thanked: 2,931 Times	The UT present in Gujarat ( I am having border with Gujarat ) are bad place. Next in the line is Porbandar city and then comes the Alang ship breaking yard. All these places are known for notorious people and usually the inspectors that are at duty on checkposts are the one to suffer. One senior will ask him to let a car pass. If at all some incidence occurs ( of catching some liquor coming into gujarat ), another official will blast at the one who was on duty and the senior who let the car pass. Every two months we have to travel through porbandar ( generally by dad and mom in Baleno ). We make sure that we never have to stop in that city. Preparation includes some food prepared by mom and packed for jounery ( dad has habit of carrying soap with him in car since President days ). Next time beware of these areas. A'bad, Vadodara, Rajkot, Bhavnanagar and some saurashtra are good places where issue with cops is generally not high. Surat is again bad ( remember the tuition going girl incident, the guys are out on bail ). Gujarat is a state where many are traders. They are notorious and end up increasing corruption. The service class is very good here. Sorry for the long post but wanted to give a glimpse from my experience of travelling in gujarat.
	() Thanks

15th August 2009, 23:08	#11
9tMax BHPian Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: hyderabad Posts: 237 Thanked: 104 Times View My Garage	Didn't know that TN cops were so bad. In 2007, on the way to Pondicherry I navigated through Chennai with the help of the Accented cops only. And I was in my AP vehicle. They were quite helpful all through out. We were there in Chennai also for a couple of days at that time but didn't face any kind of problem.
	() Thanks

15th August 2009, 23:28	#12
Car&me BHPian Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Chennai Posts: 207 Thanked: 36 Times	I am driving for the past 17 years in TN and AP and some abroad as well. I have never faced any harrasment in TN. But I had my own share in AP, when I was driving with TN plates in AP. In 2 weeks I paid 2500 in 6 different occassions, when my company was working with the agent to pay the road tax. No explanation could make them understand that I am only 3 weeks old in AP.
	() Thanks

15th August 2009, 23:53	#14
phamilyman Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 5,968 Thanked: 4,642 Times	My personal worst experience with cops was in Maharashtra (NH8). They were just lining up all non-state vehicles at the border. Seeing poor biker me, they stopped. I didn't have original RC or DL on me then, so they harassed (year before that, i'd lost DL in pickpocketing so never carried originals after that time). Finally after wasting half an hour and realizing i was a broke biker, they let me pass.
	() Thanks