Koramangala police station in Bengaluru tops the list of number of bribe-taking police personnel for passport verification, according to the Jaha Mahitri report by Janaagraha Centre that was released on April 25.
The information was collated from the date available on ipaidabribe (IPAB) platform.
The top 5 bribe demanding police stations according to IPAB data were Koramangala, HSR Layout, HAL, Kadugodi and Mahadevapura police stations, reported The Times of India.
An average of Rs 553 was paid as bribe by each passport-seeking applicant in the city.
There have been many other stray complaints with no specific details of the police station and the amount paid.
The report was released by Former Lokayukta Justice N Santosh Hedge.
He said, “People should learn to be content with what they are legitimately earning. There has to be a change in the legal system. A corrupt person should be convicted within six months of the crime committed, and that is when things will change.”
The New Indian Express reported that the residents have paid a sum of Rs. 3817821 in 1,149 cases as bribes to cops to facilitate the passport verification process since 2011.
Since its launch three years ago, on August 15, 2010, IPAB has recorded over 75,000 bribe reports amounting to over Rs 290 crore from more than 600 cities and towns in India.
ST Ramesh, former DGP of Karnataka, said: “About 14% of all complaints against police pertain to passport verification. There's no national database available. At present, a person who has committed a crime in Bihar can apply for a passport in Bengaluru. The consequences of not paying a bribe could be delay in issuance of passports. Or an adverse report stating some fictitious reasons such as applicants were not available at the given address,” he added.