Bihar man BEGS to collect bribe money for cop

Saurabh Kumar, who is in his mid-30s, has been begging on the streets in a small village in Bihar's Vaishali district with his family. Placards hang from their necks, which boldly proclaim in Hindi that they are doing so to pay bribe to a police official.

"I was forced to adopt this idea to fight against corruption," said Saurabh. Saurabh has gained support from locals as well, as dozens of them accompany him while he is on the streets.

He said that he was shocked when the police official from Kathara police station demanded a bribe of Rs 1,000 from him for lodging a complaint.

"When I told the official that I was not in a position to pay the bribe, he made it clear that it was not possible for him to lodge the complaint, claiming that he had to pay a monthly amount of Rs 45,000 to the district superintendent of police," Saurabh said.

"So I decided to beg to collect money," he said. "By doing this, we are also trying to expose the rampant corruption in the state," he added.

"After collecting the money, I will made a bank draft and will send it to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, so he can hand it over the police official," Saurabh told rediff.com.

"The officials here openly demand money for any kind of work. It's impossible to get any work done without paying a bribe," claimed Saurabh.

Last year, a Mahadalit man and his family committed suicide in Bihar's Aurangabad district, fed up with rampant corruption and loss of money through forgery by a middleman.

This incident has exposed the rampant corruption by middlemen in allocation of funds for houses under the Indira Awaas Yojana scheme for the poor in Bihar.