BMC’s pro-mask drive is just an extortion racket

Implementation of BMCrsquos rule on wearing masks has been a major point of contention between the cleanup marshals and citizens People have been complaining of the highhandedness of marshals who threaten abuse and extort money from them midday decided to see what really happens on the ground and our reporter got himself employed as a marshal through an agency He was hired within a few days without the mandatory police verificationmiddayrsquos undercover reporter gets lsquotrainedrsquo at the SantacruzKalina junction Two marshals seen arguing with a senior citizen Marshal Ganesh Gupta taking a fine from a tempo driverThe marshals behave no less than thugs and extort money from passengers Most of the time they do not even provide receipts to those reluctant to pay fines and pocket whatever profits they make They make an exception though by not charging political party workers cops and government officials The reporter was deployed at Hans Bhugra Marg Road which connects WEH and Kalina Santacruz EastThe agency that recruited the reporter Tiger Guards Private Limited has its office at Hanuman Tekdi in Santacruz East It has employed 50 to 60 cleanup marshals and each of them has a target to collect fines from 25 people Rs 200 each in a day which comes to around Rs 5000midday reporter Shirish Vaktania above and right during his training as a BMC marshal at the SantacruzKalina junction on Western Express HighwayHowever each marshal collects approximately Rs 10000 a day by extorting money from people who are unaware of the rates and the rules and more than 60 per cent of what they get are pocketed by themMitesh Vitkar spotted taking fines from passengersDay 1 MEETING SUPERVISORDecember 8On the first day the reporter approached the supervisor of marshals Mitesh Vitkar deployed at the SantacruzKalina junction on WEHReporter I need a job as a cleanup marshal who collects fine from people for not wearing masksVitkar This work contract will end in FebruaryReporter I will work till then How do I get paidVitkar The salary depends on each fine collected You will get Rs 40 for each fine or chalanReporter What are the timingsVitkar mdash It depends on you complete your target and go homeReporter What is the targetVitkar A minimum of 10 fines per day For 10 fines you will get Rs 400 If you manage to collect fines from 25 people you will get Rs 1000 Call me tomorrow I will fix an interviewMeanwhile Vitkar stopped a private vehicle and forced the people sitting inside to pay fines As per BMCrsquos rules those travelling in private vehicles are allowed to not wear masks When the reporter told him the same Vitkar said ldquoSabko rules nahi pata not everyone knows the rulesrdquomidday noticed that the BMC marshals were taking advantage of the fact that many people were not aware of the rules The reporter tried to contact Vitkar many a times between December 9 and 13 but he finally fixed the interview on December 14 with Contractor Sudhir Choudhary at his office in Hanuman Tekdi Santacruz EastSudhir Choudhary contractor of Tiger Guardrsquos Pvt Ltd and Shripad Balkrishna Kale ACP Vakola divisionDay 2 INTERVIEW WITH CONTRACTORDecember 14Reporter I have come for the job of a BMC marshalSudhir Choudhary Where do you stayReporter I stay in Khar EastChoudhary Have you got your aadhaar card electricity bill and two photosReporter I will get them tomorrowChoudhary You have to pay Rs 1000 for the uniform which will come in about two to three days The money is nonrefundableReporter Can I join from todayChoudhary We will train you for two days and then you can decide whether to take up the jobReporter I will do it sir Will join training from tomorrowBhagwan Patankar seen taking fine from a passengerDay 3amp4 ONFIELD TRAININGDecember 15 amp 16When the reporter met Choudhary at his office he instructed him to take training under marshal Bhagwan Patankar at the Kalina junction The reporter accompanied Patankar as he collected finesPatankar took the reporter to the spot and said that he should stop vehicles by standing right in front of them so that they donrsquot escape without paying fines The reporter was introduced to several other marshals mdash Ganesh Gupta Vishal Sawant and Afzal Khan They usually function in groups and if any motorist refuses to pay fines they argue and threaten the person midday noticed that the gang makes about Rs 3000 profit per day which they call the lsquopersonal cutrsquoPatankar used dummy cell phones to threaten the passengers He pretended to click pictures and forced passengers to cough up fines They would even threaten citizens by saying that they would call the cops who would make them pay a fine of Rs 1200Patankar stopped a public vehicle in which two people were wearing their masks around their chinsPatankar Aap dono ne mask nahi pehena hai thik se Mask nose ke upar properly wear karna hai you both are not wearing your masks properly it should be above your nosePassengers We are wearing our masks properly We will not pay finesPatankar Car side mein le lo mai police ko call karke bula leta hu Wo dekh lenge baad mai and aapko Rs 1200 per head fine bharna parega I will call the cops and they will make you pay Rs 1200 fine per headPassenger Police ko kyun bula rahe ho why are you calling the policePatankar Ek kam karo Rs 200 fine bhar do aur jao pay Rs 200 fine and goThe passengers gave Rs 200 but were not given a receiptMarshal abuses womenMarshal Patankar caught two women passengers who were not wearing masks He even pretended to click their pictures and threatened to call the cops Patankar took their car to the side and forced them to pay up After they left from the spot he started abusing themMarshal misguides womanPatankar No mask fine is Rs 500Passenger Kyun whyPatankar Mask nahi pehena hai you are not wearing a maskPassenger Jaane do yaar let it goPatankar Kya karna hai bolo Rs 500 bharna parega Ek kam karo Rs 300 bhar do aur jao You have to pay Rs 500 but you can pay Rs 300 and goPassenger Thik hai okayThe woman gave Rs 300 to Patankar who did not give her a receiptReporter Why did you tell her that the fine amount is Rs 500Patankar I could make out that she did not know about it Study the people properly and you will get more moneyMarshal Ganesh GuptaGupta stopped a public vehicle in which two people were wearing their masks around their chins Gupta pretended to click their pictures and asked for a Rs 400 fineGupta Aapka mask nose ke niche hai Rs 400 fine bharna padenga your masks are below the nose will have to pay finePassengers We will not pay fineGupta Ek kam karo ek ka fine Rs 200 bhar do pay a fine of Rs 200 for one personPassenger We will not pay fineGupta Ek kam karo Rs 100 fine bhar do and jao but receipt nahi milenga pay Rs 100 fine and go but you wonrsquot get receiptPassengers pay Rs 100 which Gupta keeps in his pocketGanesh Gupta seen extorting money from a passengerGupta stopped a minitempo and told them that they have to pay Rs 400 fine for two people not wearing masksTempo driver Hum log garib hai jaane do we are poor people please let us goGupta Ek jan ka fine Rs 200 bharo aur jao pay a fine of Rs 200 for one person and goTempo driver Jaane do please please let us goGupta Ek kam karo police chowky mai chalo waha bharna Rs 1200 ek jan ka letrsquos go to the police chowky and you will have to pay a fine of Rs 1200 eachFinally the tempo driver gave Rs 50 and Gupta put it in his pocketAfzal Khan seen extorting money from a passengerAfzal Khan starts work as early at 8 am and fines more than 3040 people He earns over Rs 3000 by extorting people In one such instance Khan stopped a public vehicle and threatened a passenger to pay fineKhan Mask nahi pehena hai fine bharo aur jaa Tujhe jaane nahi dunga fine bhare bina you have not worn the mask properly will not let you go without paying a finePassenger Fine nahi bharenge will not pay fineKhan manhandled the passenger and threatened him by saying that he wonrsquot let him goPassenger Rs 100 sirf dunga will only pay Rs 100Khan took the money and did not give a receiptMarshals divide the bribe money among themselvesMarshals hit a jackpotTourist buses are like a jackpot for the marshals as they can extort a lot of money from the passengers A tempo carrying 15 members of a family was returning from a tour and going towards the airport when three marshals stopped the vehicle All of them entered the tempo and took a video of the passengers None of them were wearing masks A group of senior citizens got off the vehicle and a heated argument started between them and the marshals over paying finesSenior citizens We are from a single family and have been travelling together for the past couple of days We are headed to the airport and donrsquot want to miss our flightMarshals I agree you all are from one family but this vehicle is a public one We will call the police and take the vehicle to the police stationSenior citizens We all are fully vaccinated please leave usMarshals Now the police will take actionDuring the conversation one of the marshals pretended to call the cops and tell them that passengers were fighting with them over finesSenior citizens Donrsquot give wrong information to the cops Let us speak to themMarshals Wait for sometime the cops will come and take all of you to the Vakola police stationMeanwhile two young passengers got off the vehicle and took Marshal Vishal Sawant to the side They then gave him Rs 1000 but the marshal did not provide any receipt The marshals then divided the money among themselves in three equal partsPersonal assistant of an MLA seen speaking to a marshalPoliticians govt employees let offBMC marshal Sawant caught a passenger in a public vehicle with his mask below his nose but he eventually let him go without taking a finePassenger I am a personal assistant of an MLA My mask is on my face I was talking on the phone because of which I pulled it below my nose I have to reach somewhere for urgent work I will give you a number where you can talk to the person concernedAn MNS worker argues with a marshal at the spotMNS workerBMC marshal Khan spotted a passenger who was not wearing his mask properly and immediately stopped the car The person who was driving the car came out and started shouting He even mentioned that he was from the MNS party ldquoPhone pe mera photo le raha hai Samjha do isko Mental hospital mai admit karo isko Kiska photo le raha hai wo bhi nahi pata Ek phone karenga to tum sab BMC marshals ka khel khatam ho jayega do you even know whose picture you are clicking Send him to a mental hospital Irsquoll make one call and all that you guys are doing will come to an endrdquo he said When the marshal realised that the passenger was a party worker he let him goDay 5December 17The reporter paid Rs 1000 and collected the uniform from the Tiger Guardrsquos office However he was not given any receipt for the same He was also asked to train for another day Day 6December 18At 10 am the reporter went to the agencyrsquos office and collected the uniform Then he worked for two hours However during that time the reporter only requested people to wear masks properly He had also been given a fine receipt book of serial number 2653651 to 2653701Note The midday reporter didnrsquot fine anyone Instead he just requested people to wear their masks Later he went to the agencyrsquos office and met Sudhir Choudhary He then submitted the receipt book at 1 pm and told him that he had to leave for some urgent work The receipt book was not used