Mid-day Exclusive Investigation: Borivali traffic Police caught routing bribes via hawkers!

A threeday investigation by midday has uncovered brazen instances of corruption where Borivali West traffic police officers extorted traffic violators using unconventional methods such as utilising the Paytm scanners of roadside hawkers and manipulating digital payment platforms like Google Pay instead of using their challan machinesThe money collected by these means was then funnelled back to the officers in cash or deposited into their accountsReporter Shirish Vaktania posing as a traffic violator interacts with PSI Dulam at Borivali West on Friday right PSI Dulam who allegedly took bribes using hawkersrsquo QR codesPhotojournalist Nimesh Dave and reporter Shirish Vaktania witnessed the modus operandi employed by the corrupt traffic officers in collaboration with numerous hawkers including those selling bags cloth and paper to facilitate the collection of payments from traffic violators The money collected was then funnelled back to the officers in cash or deposited into their accountsThe area under scrutiny was Lokmanya Tilak LT Road at Borivali West station signal a oneway route where only BEST buses are permitted On a daily basis four to five traffic cops are deployed there to apprehend individuals flouting traffic rules Acting on information from reliable sources midday decided to visit the spotleft to right 1 A scooter rider is pulled over a Borivali West on November 3 2 The woman who was riding pillion is sent to a hawkerrsquos stall to make a digital payment 3 The woman who sent to a hawkerrsquos stall confirms a digital payment has been made PicsNimesh DaveInvestigation overviewAround 1211 pm on Friday the reporter deliberately violated the traffic rules by making a left turn upon reaching the signal outside Borivali station A woman traffic constable then appeared and this exchange occurredConstable Park your bike in the corner This is the wrongside drivingReporter Its the right way I took a left turn from the signalConstable Only BEST buses are allowed here no other vehiclesReporter I wasnrsquot aware of thatSubsequently the constable instructed the reporter to speak with PSI Dulam The reporter parked his bike and engaged in a conversation with the officerReporter Sir the woman constable stopped me after I made a turnPSI Dulam Yes this route is offlimits for bikes and other vehicles even rickshaws You didnt see anyoneReporter No sir I didnt see anyonePSI Dulam Wait I need to check your challan historyPSI Dulam then checked the system and found that the reporter had no pending challansPSI Dulam Now you have to pay a fine of R500 and I will provide a receiptReporter Sir I dont have R500 on mePSI Dulam How much can you payReporter Sir I can pay R300PSI Dulam Fine give me thatReporter Sir I dont have cash in my walletPSI Dulam Then go to an ATM withdraw the cash and pay meReporter Sir can I use GPay or Paytm to make the payment Can you provide me with a scannerPSI Dulam No I cantaccept GPay or Paytm as I had issues receiving money inmy account earlier But if you dont have cash you cantransfer it to my GPay account My mobile number is 99Reporter Yes sir its doneQR code scanner racketmidday also witnessed PSI Dulam and woman constables using hawkersrsquo scanners to collect bribesOn November 1 PSI Dulam was seen stopping a tempo driver for violating traffic rules Instead of using his challan machine to impose a fine PSI Dulam opted to use a hawkerrsquos QR code A minor boy was called to the scene and the tempo driver made the payment via the code produced by the childThe midday team on November 3 witnessed two similar incidents In the first a woman scooter rider accompanied by a minor boy was stopped by a woman constable for breaking traffic rules After a prolonged argument the constable directed the rider to make a digital payment at a hawkerrsquos stall The latter complied scanning the hawkerrsquos device to put the matter to restIn the second incident a male scooter rider accompanied by a woman was also stopped by a woman constable After a lengthy dispute the latter instructed the man to make an online payment The man sent the woman to make the payment by scanning a QR code at the stall of a hawker who sells plastic bags After complying the woman showed the mobile receipt to the constable as proof of paymentCopSpeakInformed about the matter Senior Inspector Vikas Lokare of the Borivali Traffic Division said ldquoWe have not received any such complaint till now We have already given challan machines to each officer I will investigate this matter personallyrdquoNovember1Day tempo driver was stopped