There’s no denying the guys handling the Mumbai Police Twitter account have a pretty cool sense of humour. (Source: Twitter)Of late, going by Twitter performance, Indian politicians and public service departments have been thwarting all stereotypical notions that the Indian babu has no sense of humour. One such department is the Mumbai Police, who have time and again nailed it on Twitter, not only responding to tweets efficiently and with that edge of humour, but also running hashtag campaigns that would weed out perpetrators and law breakers, or even as warnings.
Remember the #HoshMeinAao campaign the department ran in January 2016? Not only was it a great use of Internet pun, but also displayed how our law enforcers can spot a great pun, when they see it.
Rolling ahead with that same sentiment, the Mumbai Police’s Twitter PR cell has jumped on to the Pokémon Go bandwagon that has gripped the world. In the US, where the augmented reality gaming app was first released, traffic departments started putting out warning signs to players-cum-drivers whose Pokémon catching activities would be hazardous to not only their lives, but others on the road as well.
Closer home, in Chennai recently, a huge group of players gathered at a park hoping to catch a rare Pokémon, raising much alarm. It was just a day after a stampede broke out in a US park for similar reasons, so the alarm was not exactly unjustified. Thankfully nothing happened, but the possibilities were there. And as the craze around the game spreads, the risk of players disregarding or even forgetting safety at finding random Pokémons on Indian roads also increases.
Addressing this pressing concern, the Mumbai Police started funny but relevant campaign called “Pokémon Can’t Go”. On July 24, the department tweeted out a GIF with a policeman catching a Pokémon, with the message: “Life is not a game. Especially not one to be played on the roads! #RoadSafety”
Life is not a game. Especially not one to be played on the roads! #RoadSafety pic.twitter.com/qQghrHDNWr
— Mumbai Police (@MumbaiPolice) July 24, 2016
The tweet had a mixed response as some took the caution seriously, while others decided to go one up in the punning department – only to get trolled themselves. Here are some of the interesting replies:
@MumbaiPolice wish you could catch criminals like how I catch Pokemons
— Pranay Shah (@SN_Pranay) July 24, 2016
@MumbaiPolice but amusingly more pokemons are found near temples, get the analogy??
— Pranay Shah (@SN_Pranay) July 24, 2016
@MumbaiPolice So only @BeingSalmanKhan can play on the roads? Don’t catch em all, at least catch one?
— Nikhil (@Trollacharya) July 24, 2016
@MumbaiPolice @CPMumbaiPolice kaha khele.. Phir tumhare police thaane me? Zara tum bhi dekho vaha Pikachu ho?XD
— Evil Beard (@EvilBeard1) July 24, 2016
@MumbaiPolice agreed plz catch criminals?? we are safe
— Dhwani? (@DhwaniPrincess) July 24, 2016
@MumbaiPolice you can’t catch em all and get away but crush em all and get away
— ?Red Devil? (@AnngadC) July 25, 2016
@MumbaiPolice if you don’t give us permission to play this game at Azad maidan we have no other option at VT. AM is for protests really???
— Gaurav (@gauravkhilari) July 25, 2016
Well, it’s true you can’t win ’em all, but at least the message had a widespread reach.
