In a six-second viral clip, a policeman, identified as Manoj Kumar, was heard mimicking the sound of gunshot after his revolver got jammed during an encounter, saying “Arre maaro, ghero ghero, thain thain”. While the Sambhal police have said they would give Kumar a certificate of bravery, calling his actions “consistent with police strategy”, the Sub-Inspector agrees that is true, but denies saying “thain thain”. What happened on October 12? Our team was chasing two criminals. We were firing shots in the air to scare them. At one point, I found my pistol had jammed. I followed the standard protocol taught for such situations, and shouted, ‘Maaro, ghero, pakdo (shoot, surround, catch them)’. This creates psychological pressure on the criminals. A video shows you imitating the sound of gunshots. That is not me. I don’t know who said ‘thain thain’ or shot that video. Read | Cop gets bravery award: Shouting ‘thain-thain’ when gun jammed was strategic, says Sambhal SP Have you seen the video? Yes, I saw it (laughs). People are having a good laugh over it. Mere video par 90 per cent positive comments hain (90 per cent of the comments on my video are positive). People understand we were conducting an operation. We arrested one of the criminals. How did your seniors and family react? My seniors have not said anything. My children, of course, are amused. They asked, ‘Papa ka video WhatsApp pe kyon aaya hai (Why has papa’s video come on WhatsApp)?’ They don’t understand police language, so I had to explain the operation to them in simple terms. Express Editorial | Special effects branch Has your pistol ever got jammed before? No, never. But it is a technical glitch and can happen. Our guns are checked every morning and cleaned by a team of policemen. But sometimes, they may get jammed despite maintenance. Our team was chasing two criminals. We were firing shots in the air to scare them. At one point, I found my pistol had jammed. I followed the standard protocol taught for such situations, and shouted, ‘Maaro, ghero, pakdo (shoot, surround, catch them)’. This creates psychological pressure on the criminals.
