Srinagar: The maverick Inspector General of Police, Traffic, Basant Rath began his Kashmir stint on a hiccup after the picture he tweeted of police vehicle being towed after chalan was rebutted by police saying ‘they did not break any law’. Netizen had a field day to slug out the confusion between two law enforcement agencies on Facebook and twitter.
Rath tweeted earlier the day a picture of a police vehicle from Police station Kothibagh being towed by the traffic cops.
“Equality before law. Ladies and Gentlemen,” tweeted Rath on his official handle @KangriCarreir.
The tweet hit the storm with many supporting to Rath but soon confusion began with a picture of a police request to SSP traffic Srinagar to help them retrieve the vehicle which had a ‘mechanical fault’.
“Kindly provide the recovery Van to this police station. As the departmental Sumo bearing no….. of this police station have some mechanical fault. The vehicle is required to lift for repairing at work shop,” read the request police had made to traffic cops to help them retrieve the vehicle from the spot it has broken down.
Netizens forced Rath to come again on twitter after posting picture of police request, who replied saying that they indeed had challaned the police vehicle: ‘It’s a challan’, he replied to one and to another twitterati he told “hold your horses’, ‘Give me time I will explain’ to another.
Police however clarified that their vehicle had not broken any rule but had developed an technical glitch and they had taken help from traffic police to retrieve the vehicle.
“I stand by what I have tweeted but there is some confusion. Will clarify,” Rath told INS over phone.
Rath had earned a name after his maverick style of managing traffic in winter capital Jammu and just day earlier begun his Sringar stint.
Netizens took internet by storm tweeting and sharing police vehicle being toed while showering praise on Rath but, according a police official, ‘goof up had already happened’.
A senior police official told INS that they have not broken the law and the confusion, if any, must be clarified by @KangriCarreir i.e the official twitter handle of IGP traffic Basant Rath.
“Friends, this was a mistake. My mistake. I should have verified the information that was fed to me. The police station vehicle was not challaned. And I’m not going to delete any of my tweets or Facebook status updates. I’m accountable. I’ll always be accountable,” Rath later wrote on his Facebook wall.
