Mumbai, April 16: Tackling the electronic media without giving them the impression that you are eager to speak to them is not an easy task. But, an IPS officer managed to do that in a rather hilarious manner recently.
The police had arrested a senior police officer, in a sensational case. Investigations were headed by a senior IPS officer, who had authorised the arrest of his colleague. The news of the arrest spread like wildfire and it ran as ‘breaking news’ on all news channels.
Within seconds, TV journalists started calling up the senior IPS officer for a sound-byte. Though the officer wanted to speak, he didn’t want to look too keen as the case was against his own colleague.
So, he devised a plan. He told the insistent TV journalist that he was busy at a function and that the journalist should come to the venue if he wanted a sound-byte. The journalist arrived within minutes. The officer told the journalist, “I will be come out of the venue in a while. You stand near my car and when I am about to get into the car, you shove your boom-mike at me and ask about the arrest. I will reply to your question quickly, get into my car and leave. By doing this, it won’t look as if I am too keen to give a sound-byte against my own colleague.”
As planned, the officer came out of the venue, reached his car and the journalist shoved his boom-mike at the officer and asked him about the arrest. The officer answered and sat in his car. Plan successful? Not yet!
Just as the officer’s car was leaving the venue, another TV journalist arrived and insisted on a sound-byte. The officer couldn’t refuse, but didn’t want to seem too keen. So, he decided on an ‘action replay’.
He asked the journalist to wait near his car, went back inside the venue, exited after a couple of minutes and walked towards his car.
As planned, the journalist shoved his boom-mike in the officer’s face and asked about the arrest. The officer replied in the most sombre manner, “Yes, we have arrested the officer concerned. I, however, cannot give any further details as investigations are on.”
The officer then sat in his car and sped away, smiling sheepishly, leaving behind two happy, giggling journalists.
—Agencies