The Mumbai police suddenly needs a PR strategist. In the last few months, it has earned itself an image as violent as the episodes the force has been involved in, damaging its reputation. Social media is abuzz every other day with fresh videos of appalling police behaviour. If their endeavour is to maintain the law and order effectively, their first step should be to display responsible behaviour. With the power they carry to book offenders, detain and arrest them as per law, they seem to have taken easily to a display of physical aggression, sorting out matters by roughing up civilians instead of being facilitators of the law.

In an incident dated November 2, of which a video has gone viral, a call centre employee couple were at the mercy of the Andheri police, who chided them, abused them, even beat them, leading to an uproar across social and mainstream media. Found fighting in the middle of the road by a patrolling team, they were picked up and summoned to the station, where the violence eventually erupted.