Shoot! Cops under inquiry for 'Singham' selfies with guns

mid-day impact >> Following our report on cops posting photos with their weapons on social media, bosses send them notices

There will be no more gun ki baat on social media of policemen, after mid-day's expose on cops posting selfies with their weapons. Many have deleted the photos and will soon face inquiry by the force. Dattatray Padsalgikar, Maharashtra's Director General of Police, has asked all cops to immediately remove gun-toting selfies from their social media. The state police chief on Monday also ordered an inquiry against cops who were found posting such pictures online.

PSI Kadam Ganesh has replaced his 'guns and poses' profile picture with a much safer choice

Report triggers probe
mid-day exposed eight such policemen in its front-page report yesterday. From constables to senior officers, these cops had posted 'Dabangg' selfies with lethal weapons, such as pistols revolvers and even AK47 rifles. This paper's exposé caught the attention of top IPS officers as well, who denounced the photographs as "childish" and "unethical".

After initiating a probe into the matter, DGP Padsalgikar told this reporter, "It's against the service rules, as well as the Maharashtra Police Act, and we have initiated an inquiry. The probe will take time, however we will take appropriate action accordingly."

Notices to be fired off
Upon Padsalgikar's instructions, a police team has started gathering details of the cops whose gun selfies were printed in mid-day. Soon, a show cause notice will be sent to them. The errant cops will have a month to respond, or action will be taken against them.

Apart from the eight policemen highlighted by this paper, the report triggered panic among other cops, who went on a deleting spree, erasing similar photographs and questionable content from their social media. An officer revealed to this scribe, "In the morning, after reading the news report, I deleted all posts in which I was in uniform or carrying a gun. The gun is part of our uniform and it is always with us, but we should definitely not use it in this way, just for fun. We carry so much responsibility along with the weapon, and we need to keep this in mind."

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