We had a rough idea about it all along, but never bothered
to fathom the problem. So when The Hindu came up with an in-depth report about
the bribes taken by Bangalore's policemen from hawkers, traders, prostitutes,
eunuchs and even pavement dwellers, a far more dirty picture emerged.
The hafta collected by beat policemen in the city undergoes a 'suction up' effect (my lame attempt to find an opposite of 'trickle down') and a certain percentage of this booty is passed on to higher officials. Officers above the rank of sub-inspector do not indulge in such menial tasks as hafta collection and hence a portion of the money collected by their subordinates lands on their table.
This system of 'mamool' or 'parallel taxation' is jocularly termed as VAT ka VAT by the traders and the report says that only beggars and handicapped vendors are exempt. Though I find it hard to believe that they indeed spare the beggars. Maybe they approach beggar mafia leaders for the purpose.
The hafta rates are 'floating' and buoys up during festivals. And needless to say India is indeed a land of festivals. So it is as good as it gets for them. A sex worker claims she has to pay 'double' hafta on festival days.
Though in most cases it is the police constable on 'cheetah' bike (a Bajaj Pulsar with cheetah like markings) who goes around collecting money, sometimes they come in 'hoysala' vans and the collection rates go up. It gets even higher when a sub-inspector turns up.
There are also instances of this function being 'outsourced'. The report states that in the busy KR Market there are 2,000 vendors and it would be too much of an effort to go about collecting haftas. Hence the officer there has deployed some persons to carry out the task twice a day. The vendors claim they are not goons, but normal persons, who happen to be jobless. Now how can we say that policemen lack ingenuity and are not keeping up with the times and managerial practices.
Bar owners have to shell out on a daily as well as monthly basis. The daily rates differ among bar owners who down shutters before the curfew time of 11 pm and those who do so later. In addition, all bar owners have to pay a monthly levy at the nearest police station.
Cases of assaults are settled 'amicably' if something upwards of Rs 25,000 is paid and even the most 'peaceful' police stations receive at least two such cases a day.
Hence the gravy train of mamool collection smoothly rolls on with most men in khaki on board.
Also Read: Random Jottings
