Actress Sheetal Thakkar was robbed and not by petty thieves, but by cops last evening!
Sheetal, who quit Sony's Ye Meri Life Hai recently, had parked her car in the parking area adjacent to JJ Hospital, came back in an hour to find that it was missing.
"It was a horrifying experience. We knew that we had parked the car in a parking zone and it was funny because if the police had towed it there would have been a chalk mark, as is the norm. Since there was none, we thought that it was a case of theft and went to the police station…only to find our car parked in front of the station!" says the actress, who was with her brothers at that time.
When confronted, the actress was told that the car was found at a no parking area more than two kilometers away from JJ Hospital. It was clear then that this was an elaborate effort to extort money from unsuspecting victims.
"Since my car was the first in a row of cars and nearest to the road, it was easy to take away. You know, I had heard a lot about corruption being rampant in this country, but this is the first time that I have actually experienced it first hand. I was shocked," says the angry lady.
Sheetal waited at the station for over one-and a half hours and then finally gave up the battle - paid up Rs 300 as fine and heaved a sigh of relief. But the actress' ordeal is something that is a common occurrence for the Indian masses…but the rising anger against the RTO and the traffic police does not bode well for the future.