Mumbai police struggle to get Twitter handle in their name

Realising the vast reach of social networking mediums, the city police are trying to get a Twitter handle in their name — @MumbaiPolice. But there’s one small glitch, an individual already has a handle bearing the name

Realising the vast reach of social networking mediums, the city police are trying to get a Twitter handle in their name — @MumbaiPolice. But there’s one small glitch, an individual already has a handle bearing the name.

Soon after taking charge, police commissioner Ahmed Javed had announced the city police will have their own Twitter handle and Facebook page. A senior IPS officer said the city police had planned to launch their Twitter handle and Facebook page on Monday, the day of the launch of cyber safety awareness campaign. But the technical glitch has delayed the launch.

The officials of the cyber wing said they had tried to identify and trace the person, but in vain. Officers suspect it could be a cop with the Mumbai police, who has registered the handle in personal capacity.

The crime branch officials also approached Twitter and requested that the Mumbai police’s handle be released, but we offered @BrihanMumbaiPolice instead. The police are not keen on it, as the word BrihanMumbai does not immediately connect to the Mumbai police.

“We presented multiple reasons for which the handle @MumbaiPolice must be given to us. It is our right. We also feel the handle could be misused,” said a senior IPS officer.

With their repeated requests, the handle was finally found suspended on Twitter, giving hope to the city police.