Despite wearing bodycams, traffic police taking bribes over fines: Motorists

Bengaluru

Despite the slew of measures taken by Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) to curb corruption amongst its officers on the road, citizens continue to complain about being asked for bribes while on the road.

One such measure was the body worn camera, which was provided to 4,500 traffic police personnel in the city to bring in more transparency and civility to policing. However, so far, a method to ensure that the camera stays on at all times has not been figured out. 

“I was driving in Koramangala a couple of weeks ago in the evening when I was stopped by a BTP officer for entering a no-entry zone. The problem was that the board was not in clear sight and when I started arguing about the same with them, they told me not pay a fine, but pay a much lesser bribe to them and drive away,” narrated Suraj R. (name changed), an accountant.

He further said, “When I told them that I did not have much cash on me, they settled for ₹100 and let me go. Since I was in a hurry to get somewhere, I chose the easy way out.”  

Similar experiences were shared by many other roads users in the last few weeks. “It is like there are two options to settle matters when you commit a violation on road. I was stopped for riding without a helmet and was let go after I bribed an officer ₹300 ten days ago,” said Harini K. (name changed), a student.

In both the instances, the road users recalled seeing no cameras worn by the officials. The BTP, on the other hand, said that it is mandatory for all the officers to wear body worn cameras at all times when they are on duty. 

“The cameras have been given to all officers from constables up until the rank of Assistant Sub Inspectors (ASI). If anyone faces any issue of corruption on road, they can complain to us and we can easily verify the incident as the body worn cameras will help us determine who is in the wrong. Strict action will be taken if the officers are found to be not wearing bodycams. Moreover, we have drastically reduced checking vehicles unless it is a visible violation,” said M.A. Saleem, Special Commissioner, Traffic.