Thursday, July 23, 2009

Day time robbery

I am really angry. Went for lunch to a nearby eating joint with "T" and ended up paying Rs100 as fine for traffic policeman for parking my bike in no parking area?!?!?.


Angry, for 2 reasons

One, to see our so called tamilnadu police(once boasted as next only to Scotland yard) has become like day time robbers (in some cases beggars).

Two, i should have paid only 50bucks but ended paying 100. I was not prudent enough to even identify that iam being cheated.

Everything seems to be going on fine, until we finished our lunch and came back towards the parking lot(what else you call a place where over 250 bikes are parked in order) to take my bike. That's when i was called by this group of traffic cops(one in the white bike and 3 other chamchas for him). I though they're calling for something else, asked what. He said come pay the fine you have parked in no parking zone. I was surprised, these folks doesn't even know where i have parked my bike and just because they see a helmet in my hands they're calling, funny buggers(this was what my initial thought was). Then they showed one no parking for 200 mts board on the other side of the road. I was like "Are you guys crazy??". I asked him why there is no board on the other side and what do you expect if there are 200bikes parked in order and a person coming from the other side is definitely justified to assume its a parking area. By now this cop was getting angry just because iam asking question. For God's sake iam a bloody tax payer in this country and that fellow is bound to answer me. He says i can't put signs in all the sides. I was asking "how can you expect the people coming from other end to read the board on this end and then decide not to park, with the fact that 200 odd bikes parked". "No sir, you can't talk like that. "Adhaan arrow potruku illa (see arrow marks on the board). No one can escape from me. You stand and watch. We're here without having lunch also".
T was whispering, so with this only you're goin to have your lunch?

I really wanted to shout, "That arrow doesn't go tilll the end of the road to warn the drivers there. you're supposed to nab robbers and you yourself can't do it like this" but instead ended up paying 100Rs. It's not about the 100 bucks, but to me i was not on the other side of the law definitely.


Then we both drove back to the office, on reaching the office i took out that receipt and saw both sides, that's when i realised the fine amount for no parking is just 50 bucks and not 100. I thought of goin and asking him but then was shocked to see that it was written as "no parking and assault". Damn me, can any one reading this tell me what was the assault i did here???? so 50 bucks additional fine for assault. What else can you call these people other than day time robbers. I was very angry that i did not see this there itself and gave him a peace of mind.

Poor T was apologising "Sorry Chan, it was my mistake", "i would pay" etc etc.

Whatever said and done here iam sitting here fuming on the plight of common man and sorry state of affairs the police dept is in. Seriously, people like me do not know how to handle this, do i have the right of saying i won't pay or i can handle this in court or since there was no board i won't pay etc..

Any thoughts folks ???

4 comments:

Ratzzz said...

Ouch.... Seriously TN cops have gone to the dogs..

i remember my days at college.. we used to find loads of traffic policemen suddenly at a certain time of the month at the AU,IIT, CLRI junction. i always used to quip, "Check if it's month end..." and invariably it wud be month end...

:( such is our system

Satish N said...

Man, Here in this Fcuking bangalore a cop pulled me over for what you know ?? Just that I dont know how to speak Kannada ?? Believe this ?? He pulled me over to chk my license and the he was constantly speaking in Kannada and I cud not understand anything, he then told me - "You ppl will be in Bangalore, enjoy this weather, but will not learn kannada is it ? Pay 1000 Rs fine, as you did not answer a traffic police questions"

AhhHaaa ... I told myself that the cop has already dug his grave, and Satish rewind his life back to New College Days and showed the "Bhaashaa" side of him and the rest is history. I just ripped him L R and C in Jeevan Bheema Nagar Trafice Police Station and got him a memo as well. Thamizhana Ennikkum Thappa Edai podaadha nu sollitu vandhen :)

.. said...

Hats off to you Chan,u did put up a good fight!!

Chan said...

@Rat, no doubt.
@Sats, u did the ryt thing mate
@Shylu, but ended up payin the fine na. In fact "T" went and filed a complaint in the chennai traffic police site.

I am a proud

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