NRI Alleges Harassment On Way To Grandparents' Check-Up, Hyderabad Cops Deny Claims

A social media complaint by a non-resident Indian (NRI), alleging harassment by Hyderabad Traffic Police, has sparked a widespread debate online. The police have issued a clarification denying the allegations and accusing the NRI of presenting only one side of the incident.

The complaint was posted on X by Gaushik Mandava, who claimed he had a stressful experience with traffic police officials while travelling with his elderly grandparents for a medical check-up.

In his post, Mandava said he had recently returned from the United States and did not have digital payment applications such as Google Pay or PhonePe on his phone. He alleged that traffic police stopped his vehicle and insisted that he pay the challan immediately through online payment.

According to him, despite explaining his situation and requesting permission to pay later from home, the officers refused to let him leave. Mandava said he had to arrange the payment through another person, which caused a delay and resulted in his grandparents missing their medical appointment.

He further alleged that even after making the payment and showing a screenshot, an officer identified as Ramu Naik continued to argue and did not trust him.

"Citizens should be treated with professionalism and basic respect, especially when elderly people are involved. This experience was extremely stressful and disappointing," he wrote in the post.

Dear @HYDTP and @ThirumalagiriPS,
Today I had a very unpleasant experience with traffic police officials at Thirumalagiri. I had recently returned from the US and did not have Google Pay or PhonePe set up on my phone. I was travelling with my elderly grandparents and was taking… pic.twitter.com/id8tlTM46e

— Gaushik Mandava (@mandava0) May 21, 2026

His post added, "I was also asked to complete the payment through the officer's PhonePe account, and an additional Rs 100-Rs 200 was requested as an extra charge for facilitating the transaction. This was unexpected and not part of any official challan procedure. This is nothing but a bribe."

Thankyou for your response @HYDTP. According to the law no officer should force the citizen to pay the challans on spot.

During this process, I was also asked to complete the payment through the officer's PhonePe account, and an additional ₹100–₹200 was requested as an extra…

— Gaushik Mandava (@mandava0) May 21, 2026

Traffic Police Deny Allegations

The Hyderabad Traffic Police rejected the allegations and said the social media post did not present the full facts of the incident.

According to officials, the vehicle was stopped during a special drive conducted on May 21 at around 11:40 am. During checking, police found that the car had an unauthorised siren fitted.

Your vehicle was intercepted during routine traffic enforcement as it was found using an unauthorized siren, which is a violation under traffic rules. Accordingly, a challan was issued as per law.
The traffic personnel performed their duty strictly in accordance with the law and pic.twitter.com/FIrwoJio2m

— Trimulgherry Traffic PS (@shotr_trmlgerry) May 21, 2026

Police said a challan was issued and the siren was removed in accordance with rules. During further verification, officials also found multiple pending traffic challans linked to the same vehicle.

The police added that the driver did not inform officers about any medical emergency involving his grandparents during the checking process.

"The respondent did not disclose any medical emergency and paid the siren challan imposed," the police said in their clarification.

The NRI's post triggered a debate on social media, with users expressing mixed reactions. While some criticised the police for their handling of the situation, others supported the action taken by officials.