“Saavdhaan bachay! Helmet pehan lay nahin to IPS Basant Rath pakad lega" (Beware child! Put on your helmet. Otherwise Basant Rath will catch you). These are the words full of fear and caution that mothers in Jammu nowadays have been constantly hammering in the minds of their children before they could kick and zoom on their bikes. Fear, fear, and only fear is in the air of already-terrified Jammu and Kashmir. Duty, duty, and duty is the only thing that matters to him. Some call him Farki (senseless), some call him Pagal, and some call him ‘a spoilt brat’. Some even call him ‘police wala goonda’ or ‘vardi waala goonda’. No family, no friends, no officers, no rich class, no politicians, and no rishtedaari (relationship) but just duty and not only duty but duty full of utmost audacity, dedication, sincerity, and integrity. Unjust pressure from his bosses, influence peddling by the rich, powerful, and the goonda class, flattery by friends and peers, and dropping of names by those who get caught by him while performing his duty are his stark enemies. Truth seekers and truth revealers, social change makers, law-abiding, and justice-loving people are his close friends. He never listens to the rules and the laws-breakers. He never feels afraid of the big guns and never gets pressed down by the rich-cum-powerful sharks of the state. What can be said about the anti-social (goondas) elements of the state when he doesn’t have even an iota of fear of his own departmental officers and which can be proved by his recent verbal combat with the son of his own departmental officer – JP Singh, IGP Personnel (Police Headquarters), Jammu.

Becoming an icon-of-sorts-image in the state of Jammu (Jammu and Kashmir) was not a silk-donned journey for him. He is the same IPS police officer who without caring about his own precious life (including his family) landed alleged city criminal Nagar Singh along with his allies (from the world of crime) in jail. Wherever he goes, he never ensures that he wields a massive fan following but the fact is that his fans naturally get gathered around him like a swarm of bees around a fragrance-oozing flower. For some he is a new social media sensation and for some it is just a social stunt to create a social fad and which they think would soon, like other things, taper off. There is no denying the fact that whenever he posts something audacious regarding the breach of laws and rules by the law-shattering citizens of the state a shower of likes quickly follows his post.

Never in the history of Jammu and Kashmir has any police officer taken such an audacious, appreciative stand and painstaking efforts to maintain law and order in the state. For him his duty to maintain law and order in the state is above all other social and familial considerations. He never gives two hoots about his own security, about his own life, and also about his own family. For him utmost integrity towards his duty is preferable to any other personal and social concerns. For Basant Rath no words like delay, laziness, and procrastination find any place in his dictionary as he has always been swift to action – whatever, whenever, and wherever. He is a fearless, dauntless, and dashing cop whose heart beats for the honest, the law-abiding, and the social change makers. Anti-social elements, spoilt rich class, and traffic-rules breakers had almost wet their pants the moment they came to know that Rath had been promoted to take the mantle of the chief of the Traffic Police in Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir and unfortunately the crime rate in the state took to sharp nosedive. With his devotion, selfless duty, winsome bravery, sharp wit, and dashing and macho style of service he easily wins many hearts. Above all we can say that his style of service is unparallel, unmatchable, and all praiseworthy. No police officer in the state can stand against him as far as his personal charisma and mozo are considered.

Rath has now become a hearts stealer nowadays. The time when police is looked down as wicked, ill-mannered, roguish, malicious, corrupt, and uncooperative, the police officers like him are acting as face savers.  As they say that like all men are not corrupt, all police officers are also not disloyal and corrupt. He is serving selflessly and setting emblematic examples for his batch-mates, colleagues, and peers.