Mumbai police: The Twitter account you didn’t know you needed

By Anirban Bhattacharya

“It is better to be feared than loved if you cannot be both. And always avoid being hated.”

Niccolo Machiavelli’s maxim is no less true in 2018, at the dawning of a brave new millennium than it was in the 1520’s, at the crux of the Italian Renaissance. Apart from being a visionary, benevolent and munificent overlord to his subjects, a ruler must also be a stern disciplinarian—harsh, unyielding and at times cruel, but never needlessly so. This is both necessary and true, the latter set of qualities to maintain law, order and continuity of the state, and the former to foster loyalty, growth, prosperity, happiness—”incentivise” the public as it were—to teach them to aspire for a better future. And where the police come in is as the public instruments of that administration—the executive “muscle” of the judiciary and the state to maintain general law and order among its citizenry, by preventing and punishing crimes. They are the first responders after all in an issue of domestic proportions.

Brihanmumbai Police: Going beyond mere duty

Admittedly much of the first paragraph talks about reasons why the police are meant to be an instrument, albeit a reactionary one, of justice and equity. However like with all mundane things, what if, it aspired to be more? What of a police department that wanted to really help the people under its jurisdiction and go out of their way to do so? I imagine they’d look something like the Brihanmumbai Police, Mumbai’s finest, responsible for policing (yep, you guessed it) Greater Mumbai. It’s going to be quite a ride listing all their heroic deeds above and beyond the line of service, not to mention their remarkable and effusively compelling public relations efforts—so do your best to hang on. And pay attention.

https://twitter.com/MumbaiPolice/status/978494848566288384

As little as 12 hours ago (at the time of writing) Nilesh Kage’s life was turning on its head. Kage had admitted his wife to Hiranandani hospital after she fainted but the hospital had run out of the B+ blood type his wife needed. In desperate straits, the hapless vegetable vendor sought help from IITB Police Chowky. Constable Ganesh Katte who was in attendance not only took the crying man on his bike- he donated his blood (B+) and saved a life in the process.

https://twitter.com/MumbaiPolice/status/977815026865180672

The very next post hilariously has dogs wearing seatbelts. Yes, you heard that right—the post dated Mar 25 had a dog wearing a seatbelt riding shotgun while his “best friend” looked on from the side! Who says our desi men in blues can’t rock humour—humour that might just save your life in today’s age of road mishaps and contagious and contiguous apathy!

https://twitter.com/MumbaiPolice/status/977425183580581888

Case in point—the very next one stars Calvin and Hobbes on one of their interminable (mis)adventures. Calvin typically has messed up his picture connecting dots haphazardly. It is left to Hobbes (typical- a stuffed tiger that’s wiser than a teenage runt) to figure out that he’s supposed to connect the dots in the order in which they’re numbered. Some rules actually benefit the ones they’re meant for, you know!

https://twitter.com/CPMumbaiPolice/status/977058074849611776

Mumbai Police in the last few years has made significant inroads as part of its public outreach program especially where children are concerned. From felicitating and awarding scholarships to meritorious children of policemen so that their officer fathers and mothers can concentrate on their jobs better and acknowledging the immeasurable support that policemen’s families provide behind the scenes to outright open and fun interactions between children, toddlers and policemen, GMP has gone the distance.

https://twitter.com/MumbaiPolice/status/977034156990517249

But none more so than in the case of 7-year-old Arpit Mandal. Arpit is a 7-year-old like any other—happy, smart, talkative and spirited, wants to be an Inspector when he grows up—with one very big difference. You see, he’s suffering from cancer. Mumbai Police who were notified of his plight came out with a hitherto-unheard-of offer- Arpit, who wowed everyone with his wit, verve and bravery, got to be the Chief of Mulund Police Station for a whole day. Imagine that!

https://twitter.com/MumbaiPolice/status/976676356288327680

Mumbai Police’s history of service is as storied as it is a legend. The 26/11 attacks saw countless officers, including the Chief of the Anti-Terrorism Squad, Hemant Karkare, Additional Commissioner of Police Ashok Kamte, and Encounter Specialist Vijay Salaskar lost in the line of duty. Then Joint Commissioner of Mumbai Crime Branch, Mr Rakesh Maria, under the leadership of the Commissioner of Police, Hasan Gafoor, tackled the abrupt and unprovoked attack by his superb skills, which saw the lone captured militant Ajmal Kasab brought to justice. Their brave and selfless sacrifice allowed the toll to be significantly less than it would have, ensuring the terrorists were continually on the backfoot and fewer families ultimately ended up getting torn. Nothing can mitigate the losses that were dealt that day, especially to the bereaved, but perhaps in time, we can heal. If anything, Mumbai, the city and its people, are resilient.

https://twitter.com/MumbaiPolice/status/976302125318733824

Mumbai Police, with its 4.23 million viewers (and me!) with its highly contemporary social media strategy has never failed to be more on-point. Their Mar 20 post hilariously featured a rather terse interpretation of Tolkien’s most famous work—warning users to beware “The Drug Lord of The Rings“. They have clearly mastered the art of getting people to listen (hint: it involves actually talking to people and not at them). Mumbai Police joined Twitter in Dec 2015. The two people who would prove instrumental on the no-nonsense running social commentary that is the Mumbai Police’s Twitter channel were Ahmad Javed, the Commissioner of Police (now India’s ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) and Deven Bharti, the city’s Joint Commissioner of Police (Law & Order). They were clear from the outset that there will be nothing nasty, hurtful or just plain didactic about their language of communication. By using popular memes, a healthy smattering of pop culture references and catchy one-liners, Mumbai Police was able to escape the “Thou Shan’t” rigmarole and still tell potential miscreants: “We are watching you.”

Mumbai Police hired a lesser-known content marketing agency, Trivone to run their channel. The agency comprising several former journalists was able to attract 24000 followers within the first 20 days itself of their three-month long contract, considerably streamlining the process, despite waits for approvals. Their overall directive? To be more caring than clever. The overall feel of the channel is hardly of an overwise all-powerful institution rushing in to take charge of critical situations, rather a genuinely concerned individual offering help and the occasional advice to people in need of it. On Jan 23, they just launched Don’t App and Drive, an online campaign to promote safe driving, and frankly deliver a lesson in common sense. Because they’re professionals dedicated to one job 24/7, 365 days a year—creating a safe Mumbai.