Police Passport Verification Bribe Disguised as “Notary Fee”

Today, during my mother’s police verification process for her passport, two officers from the local Indore police station came to our house. After noting down her details and asking basic security questions (like her birthplace, age, etc.), they casually mentioned that a notary was required for the process. They said we could either handle it ourselves or pay them ₹250, and they’d take care of it to “save us the hassle.” The problem? No notary is actually required for passport police verification. It’s a blatant way to extract money from residents under the guise of a nonexistent requirement. This isn’t the first time I’ve seen this, and it’s frustrating that such practices happen so openly. They’re basically collecting ₹250 from every home under false pretenses. What can be done to stop this?