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This story is from February 14, 2016

Mumbai Police’s Twitter handle gets a cool Bollywood twist

The Mumbai Police have been in the news for all the right reasons. The commissioner of police and the department’s social media account (@MumbaiPolice and @CPMumbaiPolice) have set a precedent on how we need to do away with the otherwise drab and condescending public service ads.
Mumbai Police’s Twitter handle gets a cool Bollywood twist
The Mumbai Police have been in the news for all the right reasons. The commissioner of police and the department’s social media account (@MumbaiPolice and @CPMumbaiPolice) have set a precedent on how we need to do away with the otherwise drab and condescending public service ads.
MUMBAI: The Mumbai Police have been in the news for all the right reasons. The commissioner of police and the department’s social media account (@MumbaiPolice and @CPMumbaiPolice) have set a precedent on how we need to do away with the otherwise drab and condescending public service ads.
Currently high on Bollywood, the new commissioner of police Dattatray Padsalgikar, along with the department, is engaging the masses by addressing their problems with its hashtag, #PoliceWaliPublic.

Giving famous Bollywood dialogues a spin of their own, Sunchika Pandey, who is closely involved in the ideation and creation of the campaign along with the police department, says, “Bollywood is an integral part of every Mumbaikar’s life. The campaign signifies the crucial role citizens can play in keeping their surroundings safe and the indispensable relationship the police and people share.”
Thus, posters with movie dialogues and a message that goes with it have been grabbing eyeballs. With witty tweets and a collective count of a whopping 75,000 followers in just over a month’s time, the account has become the talk of the town.
Dhananjay Kulkarni, DCP, Detection, who is involved with the campaign, says, “We were planning to go online for almost a year. The medium also involves no additional cost and resources and is far more effective than the rest.”
By striking a chord with the aam junta, the messages have cleverly combined topical issues attuned with social media trends. Thus, satirical rhymes, memes, hashtags like #MardBan, #HoshMeinAao have created a buzz among people without trivializing everyday issues.

Benefits of the campaign
• The weekly plan of the campaign is to address issues like cyber-stalking, eve-teasing, traffic safety and substance abuse.
• The approach among people towards the department, too, has changed. Adds Dhananjay, “The department has become a lot more approachable and there is increased transparency. Furthermore, youngsters’ response has furthered their involvement. For instance, we receive pictures of officials not wearing helmets on bikes or other rules they flout.”
• With wide social media reach, people don’t have to wait any longer for other channels to communicate with them. Amyn Ghadiali, who’s heading the social media strategy with the digital agency behind the campaign, says, “When there were rumours about terror threats in Mumbai during Republic Day, we immediately took to social media and cleared the air. It gets easier to curb such rumours.”
Will you be Mumbai Police’s Valentine?
Since city police officials hardly get to spend time with their partners on V-Day, the team has planned a special campaign for the same. Thus, the account will acknowledge their efforts with the hashtag #WeLoveYouMumbai. Real life instances of the interpersonal relationship between the officials and Mumbaikars will be taken into account. Says Sunchika, “There are times when people offer food packets and a bottle of water to traffic policemen. We plan to woo the city by focusing on such instances.”
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About the Author
Garvita Sharma

Part time existentialist believer. Food finisher, occasionally even with my foot in mouth. Too creative to be accurate, too accurate to be creative. Reserved extrovert. Full of paradoxes. Looking at the ever-so-sunny Mumbai through my rose-tinted glasses. Aspiring gardener (limited to watering plants). Cover campus, city and at times, art and entertainment so I feel young, relevant and intelligent (respectively).

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