Copyright news18
Truck driver and vlogger Rajesh, who is known for sharing his experiences on Indian highways, recently recalled a troubling encounter while travelling through Jharkhand. In his latest video, he alleged that he was asked for money under the guise of road tax at a state border checkpoint. Rajesh captured the entire encounter on his camera which made it clear that such demands are not unusual. Truckers sometimes pay to avoid conflicts or delays but Rajesh chose to speak out. His video has since caught the attention of viewers online and sparked discussions about extortion on highways. Alleged Extortion Incident In the video, Rajesh is seen stopped by a group of men who demanded money from him. When they asked, “Dije paisa? (Give money)” he responded, “Kis chiz ka paisa? (Money for what exactly?).” The men insisted but Rajesh refused to pay. At one point, he said, “Bula lije apne officer logo ko (Call your officers).” One of the men accused Rajesh of doing “Ganda kaam (bad work),” to which he replied, “Ganda log aap kar rahe hai. Jharkhand ko aap log badnam kar rahe hai. Koi paisa kahi nahi lagta hai pure Jharkhand mein (You are the ones doing bad work. You are defaming Jharkhand. No money is charged anywhere in the entire Jharkhand).” The altercation escalated briefly but Rajesh managed to drive away safely. He later explained in the video, “Thoda sa kya hai jaha se Jharkhand shuru hota hai, waha ye log avaidh vasooli karte hai. Ye naya number dekhte hai bahar ka – yahi agar Jharkhand ya Bihar ka number plate hota toh nahi kuch bolte (Right from where Jharkhand starts, these people extort money illegally. They target vehicles with out-of-state number plates. If it had been a Jharkhand or Bihar plate, they wouldn’t have said anything).” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sports | Politics | Cinema | Memes (@viraltrollz) Viewers Speak Up The video drew attention and comments from viewers who shared their own experiences or supported Rajesh. One user said, “Ab hua vlogging ka sahi istemaal (Now this is proper use of vlogging).” Another commented, “Ye awaidh wasooli aaj se nahi saalo se ho raha hai, mai jaanta hu kyunki mai yahi ka rahna wala hu (This illegal extortion has not started today. It has been happening for years. I know because I am from here).” Others acknowledged the issue as a common problem. “It’s very normal in Jharkhand, even small scale pe log roads pe barrier laga k paisa vasool karte hai. It’s very common over there in Jharkhand (It’s very normal in Jharkhand, even on a small scale people put up barriers on roads and collect money. It’s very common there in Jharkhand),” one person wrote. A viewer also demanded, “Action should be taken.” Rajesh’s Journey As A Vlogger Through his channel, R Rajesh Vlogs, he not only documents highway life but also shares his cooking skills. And this hobby turned into a successful venture. Rajesh shared with Siddharth Kannan that his initial video with a voiceover went viral instantly. “So, my son made a video showing my face, and it got 4.5 lakh views in just one day,” he said. Balancing his trucking job and YouTube channel, Rajesh now earns around Rs 4-5 lakh per month from his online videos with the highest income reaching up to Rs 10 lakh. In comparison, his earnings as a truck driver remain around Rs 25,000-30,000 per month.
