Not only does the Mumbai Police have their heart in the right place, the social media team behind Mumbai Police Twitter account has been doing a fabulous job reaching out to the target audience by making quirky and witty references to spread awareness.
Today, Mumbai Police took actor Varun Dhavan to task for a picture of him published in a paper which showed him taking a selfie with a fan in middle of the road at a traffic signal. The picture was published in the tabloid Mid-day, which showed Dhavan obliging a visibly excited fan in an autorickshaw next to his car by stretching out of his car and taking a selfie.
Mumbai Police reprimanded Dhavan and said that such stunts look good only in films, in real life they could be a threat to him, the fan and even other commuters on the road. They said as a responsible Mumbaikar, they expect better from him. They even said that they are sending him an e-challan and warned him of harsher consequences next time he pulls up a stunt like this.
.@Varun_dvn These adventures surely work on D silver screen but certainly not on the roads of Mumbai! U have risked ur life,ur admirer’s & few others. V expect better from a responsible Mumbaikar & youth icon like U! An E-Challan is on d way 2 ur home. Next time, V will B harsher pic.twitter.com/YmdytxspGY
— Mumbai Police (@MumbaiPolice) November 23, 2017
While many hailed the move, lot of people even said that taking a selfie when the vehicles were stopped for the traffic signal to turn green should not attract a challan.
Well Done @MumbaiPolice https://t.co/ynu5YGLJde
— Shankkar Aiyar (@ShankkarAiyar) November 23, 2017
Savage ??? @Varun_dvn you might be hero in films, in real you are just an ordinary human. Stay that way. https://t.co/Fnmav8KPmu
— चाय वाली ब्राह्मण ☕️ (@sahar_ki_ladki) November 23, 2017
Some ‘journalists’ even questioned the ‘risk’ factor in taking selfie like this.
But @MumbaiPolice, the traffic isn’t moving. What’s @Varun_dvn‘s fault here? Both the passengers are seated in their respective vehicles. Barely a hand is out of the window. Nothing which could technically ‘risk lives’. ?♂️?♂️ https://t.co/4WNLb6yZ0O
— Aaqib Raza Khan (@aaqibrk) November 23, 2017
While fans of Dhavan and other ‘actors’ thought the challan was unnecessary.
O please.
Its clearly written they were in “TRAFFIC” means Vehicles were STOPPED.
Its not like they were doing Selfie stunts while their vehicles were moving https://t.co/OMVZuD5C7I
— Rizwan Khan (@iamrizkhan8970) November 23, 2017
What is there to Challan? https://t.co/55UHggZB0o
— Kapil (@kapsology) November 23, 2017
Perhaps Mumbai Police should take this as an opportunity to remind them that India has the highest selfie related deaths in the world. The ‘selfie’ craze has been so rampant that Mumbai Police had also run a #SafetyBeforeSelfie campaign on Twitter trying to make citizens aware that they should not put themselves in dangerous situations for a selfie.
Selfies Prohibited As No One Wants You Dead #SafetyBeforeSelfie pic.twitter.com/8hb53Nxous
— Mumbai Police (@MumbaiPolice) July 13, 2016
Don’t make ‘taking a selfie’ mean ‘taking your own life’ #SafeMonsoonTips pic.twitter.com/9YMYjapA78
— Mumbai Police (@MumbaiPolice) June 28, 2017
Mumbai Police has also identified 15 sites across city which are so dangerous that they are declared ‘selfie-free’ points.
Meanwhile, Varun Dhavan has accepted his mistake and apologised and promised to be more careful in future.
My apologies ? Our cars weren’t moving since we were at a traffic signal and I didn’t want to hurt the sentiment of a fan but next time I’ll keep safety in mind and won’t encourage this. https://t.co/MEJk56EksG
— Varun Dhawan (@Varun_dvn) November 23, 2017
