Ahmedabad: Social media has been blurring the boundaries between law breakers and law enforcers with the opposing groups posting videos to either flex power or flaunt their antisocial exploits to expand their online fan base. The Instagram reels posted by a 34-year-old head constable with CID ( crime ), Neeta Chaudhary, and those by bootlegger and murder accused, Joravarsinh Jhala — both made headlines recently for cocking a snook at the dry state’s prohibition law — underline this rather disturbing trend. Chaudhary gained notoriety after her arrest on July 1, a day after she was caught accompanying a bootlegger named Yuvrajsinh Jadeja in his SUV.
The duo tried to run over six cops who signalled them to stop on National Highway 41 near Bhachau town in Kutch. That same SUV was seen in one of the reels she had posted on her Instagram account, in which she identifies herself as an artist. The cop’s social media USP: Lip-syncing to Bollywood songs.
Police seized 16 bottles of IMFL and two beer cans from the SUV and charged Chaudhary and Jadeja with attempted murder and bootlegging. Granted bail on July 3, which was cancelled on July 10, Chaudhary remained untraceable until the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad nabbed her on July 16. Her Instagram followers had nearly doubled within a fortnight of her arrest, crossing 1.
14 lakh. One of the reels shows her driving a white Thar in the desert (the same that was used to run over the cops); in another she is walking past luxury cars with an arrogant swagger and there’s yet another where she is posing in front of a chopper — clearly showing her unabashed disregard for reputation or consequences. According to investigating sleuths, Chaudhary was close to Jadeja and often accompanied him to places to ferry liquor in exchange for money.
The cop’s brazenness is on a par with that of murder accused Joravarsinh Jhala, a resident of Katosan in Mehsana, whose reel showing him drinking beer in a police van made him an Instagram sensation. The video was shot outside Santhal police station in Mehsana in 2022 when Jhala was arrested for the first murder he had allegedly committed. Out on bail, he allegedly killed a 75-year-old man in Detroj taluka of Ahmedabad district at the behest of an NRI man.
According to sources, Jhala’s aides uploaded the video on Instagram to instill fear among people when he was in police custody. There was also another reel showing him drinking liquor and smoking at Dhanpura railway station, but it was overlooked by Gujarat police. Reels showing Jhala at a liquor warehouse and clubbing people with sticks have also been in circulation.
His aides have been running several social media accounts in his name to post such videos to maintain his reputation as a notorious history sheeter. Mehsana SP Tarun Duggal was unavailable for his comment on the video shot outside Santhal police station, which falls under his jurisdiction. Jhala is not the only one whose activities have long been overlooked by the police.
In May 2022, a video of three cops delivering threat-filled dialogues from Bollywood movies, inside Kalupur police station, had gone viral after which they were suspended. All three, Keshav Swarup, Siraj Razak and Edwin Alexander, joined duty within a week and no coercive action was taken against them. Altaf Pathan, popularly known as police informer Altaf Basi, also used social media extensively to gain notoriety.
The Bapunagar resident, who has contested civic body and assembly elections, was arrested by the City Crime Branch on May 15 after two FIRs were filed against him by Gomtipur residents. He had allegedly been manhandling and threatening them, asking them to evacuate their homes — he wanted the plot near Chartoda graveyard, which belongs to the Ahmedabad Sunni Muslim Waqf Committee, to be cleared. Pathan would use Facebook Live and post videos on his social media accounts to issue threats.
Pathan’s aide told the cops that besides henchmen, he has a dedicated social media team working for him which regularly posts his videos online. Nearly 10 km away from Gomtipur lives history-sheeter Uzair Shaikh alias Kalu Gardan, who is accused of killing RTI activist Nadeem Syed. He runs a YouTube channel where he uploads videos of his work, both good and bad, to gain popularity and instill fear.
On his Instagram channel, he has 32,000 followers and posts reels every day to stay relevant..
