“Sob penalty miss hoe na (Not all penalties are missed),” tweeted Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar from his official handle on June 22. An image of Lionel Messi missing a penalty against Ireland was juxtaposed with that of a sergeant penalising an errant biker driving without a helmet.
Ever since the World Cup fever gripped the city, the Kolkata Police has been driving home messages to motorists through innovative memes. Sample this couplet: “Speed limit maante hoe, sobai to aar Messi noe (Maintain speed limit, not everyone is Messi).” This message is delivered with the image of Messi speeding past a defender alongside that of a driver being penalised for over-speeding.
These memes, shared on Kolkata police’s official Twitter and Facebook handles (their combined following adds up to almost a million), have not only gone viral but have also been the most-talked about campaigns of the police on road safety.
“It was the idea of the Commissioner (of Kolkata police) to give a boost to the Safe Drive, Save Life campaign by using the World Cup. The idea was followed up by our social media cell, which came up with these innovative posts,” Supratim Sarkar, Additional Commissioner of Kolkata police III, who is in charge of the social media cell, told The Hindu.
But this being Kolkata, there are football fans accusing the police of favouring Argentina. Mritunjoy Hazra, 22, pointed out that Christiano Ronaldo was faster than Messi and asked why Kolkata Police should patronise Messi alone. But the police did not disappoint Ronaldo fans either. “Kom hok reshareshi, weekend-e Ronaldo Messi, (No rivalry on the road, Ronadlo and Messi are playing this weekend). The two icons are shown alongside two speeding buses trying to overtake each other — one of major reasons for accidents in the city.