Sub-inspector Shantanu Majumdar shares the stage with Dolan Ghoshal at a soiree in Tollygunge. Picture by Rashbehari Das

Policemen are trying to sing their way into the hearts of the people.

“Cops from the local police station are performing at neighbourhood soirees to undergo an image makeover and encourage people to approach them with their problems. They are singing everything, from Rabindrasangeet to Bollywood chart-toppers,” said an officer at the Lalbazar police headquarters.

The force had earlier tried to win over people through with para football matches and blood donation camps, as desired by chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, but they were not much of a success.

“The soirees, on the other hand, have proved to be effective in building a strong police-public relationship,” said Pradip Chatterjee, deputy commissioner of police (headquarters).

“When a policeman performs on the stage, he gets known to hundreds in the locality. The next time he is deployed to control a mob or investigate a crime, people come forward to him,” he added.

The cops have also been asked to exploit their “artistic skills” to develop a network among the people. “The common people are the most important part of the intelligence-gathering network. The officers will be surely benefited if they can use their artistic skills to develop the network,” Chatterjee stressed.

As part of the move, Shantanu Majumdar, a sub-inspector of Lake police station, shared the stage with 19-year-old Dolan Ghoshal, who had been selected at a talent hunt promoted by a TV channel.

Majumdar sang Bollywood numbers and regaled the 500-strong audience at Mudiali, in Tollygunge, for over half an hour. “We came to know about Majumdar from the residents of our adjacent neighbourhood, where he had once sung. Today, he is a popular figure in our locality, too,” said Prabir Das, a resident of Tollygunge.

Dipak Dutta, officer-in-charge of Burtola thana, is another “popular” singer in the force. He has performed on several occasions.

“Whenever he would go to a spot to enforce law and order, people cooperated with him,” said Mohammad Hamid, a resident of Karaya, where Dutta was once posted as officer-in-charge.

“We have a number of talented people in our force. Why not utilise them for the benefit of the force as well as society?” asked Ajay Kumar, deputy commissioner (south).