Kolkata Police to crack down on offensive messages on vehicles

Kolkata, Jul 29 (PTI) Vehicle owners in Kolkata displaying obscene, derogatory messages, posters, or photographs on their vehicles that could offend sentiments related to caste, creed, or gender may now face legal action under the Motor Vehicle Act, a senior Kolkata police officer said.
    Police said such obscene messages are generally seen on the rear side of private buses and trucks.
    In a social media post, Kolkata Police shared a photograph of a vehicle with a derogatory message written on it and stated that such acts could lead to charges of defamation under sections 499 IPC and 356(i) BNS.
    "The car sticker you see in the image... caught the attention of one of our colleagues during his duty. Initially, he perceived malice and misogyny behind the supposed humour. Furthermore, such an openly provocative statement could be deemed defamation under the law, drawing penalties as per sections 499 IPC and 356(i) BNS," Kolkata Police said in the post.
    Police said they could have pursued legal action, but instead decided to approach the vehicle owner first, appealing to his better judgement.
    "By displaying such a generic and negative statement, was he not also demeaning women in his own family? Fortunately, he understood the real intent behind our request and removed the sticker immediately," the post added.
    "We appreciate the cooperation from this fellow citizen and urge everyone to help maintain the stellar reputation of India's safest city for women," it concluded.
    A senior officer from Kolkata Police Traffic Department told PTI, "Displaying obscene, derogatory messages, posters, and photographs that hurt someone's sentiments or relate to caste and creed is not allowed under the Motor Vehicle (MV) Act."

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)