IGP(Traffic) Rath in a jam, captured slapping youth

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, July 19

A video showing Basant Rath, IGP (Traffic), slapping a youth in Srinagar has gone viral on social media. Shot more than two months ago, the video shows Rath hitting and slapping a youth at Lal Chowk following an argument.

Politicians have sought the intervention of the Union Home Minister and Jammu and Kashmir Police chief in the matter.

“Respected @HMOIndia Shri @Rajnath Singh ji, this police officer deputed in @JmuKmrPolice under competent Dgp @spvaid is sabotaging , Insaniyat, Kashmiriyat, jamhooriyat’ , action under law will be appreciated,” Khalid Jehangir, BJP leader wrote on Twitter.

After public criticism, Rath took to Facebook and explained the video was out of context.

“That 40-second video was part of a 25-minute conversation on that fateful afternoon. The guy posed to be a medical student from Delhi and said he was spending his vacation in Srinagar. He asked me a lot of questions that were political in nature. I trusted him as a friend. 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 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,” Basant wrote.

“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,” he said.

Rath, who joined as the IGP (Traffic) earlier this year, has been praised and simultaneously criticised for his attitude. He has also earned a name for trying to streamline the traffic mess in the state. His videos of managing traffic in Srinagar have been getting viral on social media. However, he has been in the centre of many controversies after taking over as the IGP (Traffic).

Officer takes to Facebook

"That 40-second video was part of a 25-minute conversation on that fateful afternoon. The guy posed to be a medical student from Delhi and said he was spending his vacation in Srinagar. He asked me a lot of questions that were political in nature. I trusted him as a friend. 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 and delete the videos, they created a scene. That triggered the scuffle." — Basant Rath, IGP (traffic)