A Bengaluru couple returning home on a walk after attending a friend’s party on a late Thursday night were reportedly harassed by two policemen.
Taking to Twitter, the husband, Karthik Patri, narrated the trauma he and his wife went through. The couple is a resident of Manyata Tech Park.
“I would like to share a traumatic incident my wife and I encountered the night before. It was around 12:30 midnight. My wife and I were walking back home after attending a friend’s cake-cutting ceremony (We live in a society behind Manyata Tech park),” Patri said.
They were suddenly intercepted by two policemen who seized their phone, asked for their Aadhaar card details and asked questions about their relationship status, place of work, parental details etc.
Patri then says that the policemen removed challans and started noting their Aadhaar cards. When he questioned them, one of the policemen retorted, “You are not allowed to roam on the road after 11 pm.”
The situation started getting worse when the policemen demanded Rs 3,000 and started using harsher tones. The couple pleaded with them to let them go but it fell on deaf ears. Soon, Patri’s wife started crying. Seeing her in such a vulnerable state, one of the policemen took Patri to a corner and ‘advised’ him to pay ‘minimum money’.
Mentally exhausted, Patri agreed to pay Rs 1000 via Paytm. They were let go with a stern warning. “If I and my wife are ever seen walking on the road at midnight, they would register a strong case,” Patri tweeted.
However, Patri states that the incident has left a big scar on their minds as neither he nor his wife could sleep or focus on their work the next day.
Tagging the Bengaluru city police, Patri said, “If the protectors of law themselves break the law and prey on hapless citizens, whom do we turn to?”
Fortunately for Patri, the Bengaluru city police replied to his tweet asking for contact details and place of exact location details.
Anoop A Shetty, Deputy Commissioner of Police, North East Division, Bengaluru City, responded thanking Patri for bringing it to their notice and assured him of stern action.
