Some call him Singam, some call him Dabang, senior IPS officer Basant Rath has been caught on the wrong side of the law.
Rath, inspector general of police, traffic, was caught on camera, slapping a young man in Srinagar, sparking anger across Kashmir.
The 44-second video shows Rath, in civvies, arguing with a youth at Partap Park in Srinagar’s nerve-center of Lal Chowk and then slapping him repeatedly. Later, another version of the same video with 1.50 minute duration surfaced on social media, in which the youth is appreciating his work and asking him questions about the concertina wires near the bunkers on the roads. Rath is seen becoming angry after seeing someone shooting the video.
Hailing from Odisha, Rath was promoted to Inspector General of Police (IGP) and made in-charge of the traffic department early this year. From clicking seflies with fans to interacting with people on Twitter, the 2000 batch IPS officer of J&K cadre had earned the sobriquet of Singam for his unique style of policing.
After the ‘slapgate’, Rath took to social media, regretting his action of engaging with the guy that afternoon for a rather long time.
“Friends, there is no question of me doing something that would make me lose the kind of affection I’ve got in J&K. This is the biggest achievement of my life. Life, not career. That 40 seconds video was a part of a 25-odd minutes long conversation on that fateful afternoon. The guy posed to be a medical student from Delhi, spending his vacation in Srinagar,” Rath said.
“He asked me a lot of questions that were political in nature. I trusted him as a friend. And my answers were honest and politically incorrect. Ten-odd minutes into our conversation, I realised that a couple of his friends were recording our conversation. When I asked them to stop it and delete the videos, they created a scene. That triggered the scuffle. The incident is more than two-months old. I’ll regret my choice to engage with the guy that afternoon for a pretty long time,” he added.
Despite Rath’s explanation, several political leaders have demanded action against him. “A power drunk IPS officer slapping a poor young man repeatedly outside Press Enclave in Srinagar, just because he objected to being abused. Where are the fanboys and fangirls now? Didn’t I tell you, it was a matter of time?” tweeted Junaid Azim Mattu, National Conference state spokesman.
This is not the first time that Rath has landed in trouble. In February, Director General of Police, Jammu and Kashmir Dr SP Vaid shot off a letter, warning him against any indiscipline.
In The Act
Senior IPS officer Basant Rath, inspector general of police, traffic, was caught on camera, slapping a young man in Srinagar. 44-second video shows Rath, in civvies, arguing with a youth and then slapping him repeatedly.
Basant Rath, Kashmir’s real-life ‘Singam’ in trouble
