Assam Police’s witty posts promote road safety; creative humor hooks younger audience effectively

Guwahati: At a time when scrolling through social media feeds has become second nature, Assam Police have found an innovative way to grab attention through humour, wit, and relatable content.Their viral social media posts — often revived during the New Year — are laced with clever wordplay and pop-culture references. While entertaining netizens, they also deliver a serious message: road safety saves lives.Designed to resemble promotional leaflets, these creatively crafted posts feature lines such as “Friends for hire—need one sober friend for New Year’s Eve,” “Yeh situationship jail le jayegi,” “Fielding set ho jayegi — don’t drink and drive,” and “Drunk drivers wanted to meet DJ Lockup,” among others.The risk of road accidents tends to rise during Christmas and New Year celebrations, as more people take to the roads under inebriated conditions — underscoring the need to reinforce adherence to traffic rules.“Humour is just the hook; the intent is serious. If a poster or a line makes someone hand over their car keys, it’s worth it. We want people to celebrate, come home safe, and wake up with no regret. With CM Himanta Biswa Sarma personally monitoring New Year road-safety readiness and enforcement, we’re keeping the focus where it belongs — prevention on the road,” says Assam Police DGP Harmeet Singh, under whose guidance this creative communication has evolved over the past few years.Since 2017, Assam Police’s social media presence has been aligned with the internet-savvy generation, adopting creative communication styles and online lingo familiar to younger audiences. Continuing this approach, the department introduced its first fictional character, DJ Lockup, in 2021. Over the past three years, the character has been periodically revived — particularly during the festive season — to deter drink-and-drive cases.Beyond awareness and social media virality, Assam Police’s social media team says the campaign has emerged as a powerful tool for behavioural change. “While scrolling, nobody wants to see a boring govt advisory. The idea is to make people stop, engage, and read. In addition to generating awareness, our campaign last year led to a noticeable reduction of about 53% in drink-and-drive cases on the ground,” says Salik Khan, Assam Police’s tech policy and communication consultant.What began as a local campaign in Assam has since travelled beyond state boundaries, influencing police departments in Delhi, Punjab, Meghalaya, and other regions — highlighting the broader impact of creative public communication.