For any news relating to the Tamil Nadu police, Mubarak Ali is the department’s ready reckoner. The police constable (grade-II) has an archive of all news items on police subjects published in newspapers since 2017. Mr. Mubarak has now made news after State Director-General of Police C. Sylendra Babu wrote to him appreciating his good work.
The day starts at 6 a.m. for Mr. Mubarak who starts reading e-papers of at least five major newspapers. By 10 a.m. he would have compiled all news items relating to the police department and an hour later the news files would be on social media groups connecting police personnel across the State.
As the word spread, the then Superintendent of Police, Ramanathapuram, Varun Kumar, identified the newsgathering talent of the police constable and encouraged him to update his skills on social media platforms. On his suggestion, the DGPs roped in the expertise of Mr. Mubarak.
Pleasant surprise
Earlier this month, he got a call from SP (Organised Crime Intelligence Unit) S. Saravanan, seeking details of a case published in a newspaper some three years ago.
Mr. Mubarak informed the officer that he would be able to access the information only the next day since his mobile phone screen got damaged after a fall. On Bakrid Day, he got a call from Mr. Saravanan’s office, saying a parcel had been dispatched to him. “It was a pleasant surprise to me… SP Sir remembered my damaged mobile phone and sent me a tablet. Now I am able to read and store e-paper of all newspapers on a bigger screen,” he said.
A letter in praise
This is not all. On Wednesday, Mr. Mubarak received a letter from Mr. Sylendra Babu appreciating his newsgathering skills. “I am happy to know that you have been in the habit of systematically collecting department-related news appearing in newspapers for the past three years. Your good work is highly appreciated. Keep on doing it and be helpful to the department,” the DGP wrote.
Mr. Mubarak said some of the best practices of police in cities/districts were published in local editions of newspapers, which readers in other places would not know.
“I share the e-paper clipping of such news items on social media groups, which would help police personnel in other cities/districts to emulate the same model. Many police personnel across the State told me that the news files I shared during the pandemic lockdown were very useful since newspapers were not accessible to all,” he said.
