New Delhi: Game of Thrones memes, viral videos and police advisories may seem like an unlikely combination. But for HM Lokesh, a Bengaluru head constable who spent a decade helping the city police build its social media presence, they were all part of the job of getting the police to speak the language of the public.
Now posted at the Embassy of India in Mexico City, Lokesh, who is known by his X username BCPMan, has received three consecutive letters of appreciation from Dr Pankaj Sharma, India’s ambassador to Mexico, for his work at the mission.
Lokesh, 42, joined the Karnataka police force in 2010 and began working on Bengaluru City Police’s social media operations around 2012-13. He is currently on deputation as an IBSA at the embassy. Alongside his primary security responsibilities, he has helped the mission with its public diplomacy and digital outreach.
“I was the first police person to start working in social media in 2013,” he told ThePrint, recalling how he worked under several Bengaluru police commissioners and senior officers during 2012-22.
The idea was to narrow the distance between the police and citizens. “We intended to minimise the gap between the police and the public,” Lokesh said.
At the time, the team had limited resources. “We used to design in Paint. We used basic Excel, basic Word and everything. We didn’t have Photoshop or Adobe Premiere,” he said.
The team experimented with videos, posters and memes to make police communication more engaging. Lokesh, who has also worked in the Kannada film industry and MNCs, brought his interest in writing and filmmaking to the job. Pop-culture references offered a way to make official messaging more relatable and shareable.
The work was not limited to humour. The team also used social media to communicate police updates and respond to public concerns. Lokesh said Bengaluru’s approach drew interest from other police departments, whose teams visited the city to exchange information regarding how Bengaluru city police is using social media in policing.
“In the initial phase, teams used to come to Bengaluru to see how BCP uses social media in public outreach and, more importantly, in resolving public grievances through digital media,” he said.
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‘Just supporting the team’
Lokesh was relieved from Bengaluru City Police and moved to Mexico City on deputation in 2023. His experience in digital communication proved useful at the embassy, where he has supported the creation of content for platforms including Instagram, Facebook and X.
The appreciation letter recognises this contribution. It says that, apart from his primary responsibilities, Lokesh “provided useful support to the Mission’s public diplomacy and digital outreach activities, contributing to digital content, visual communications, graphic design and multimedia material for the Mission’s official platforms.”
He is careful to distinguish this work from his primary role at the embassy. “I am basically, with my primary responsibilities, supporting the team,” he said.
After his deputation, Lokesh will return to his parent unit.
From using memes to make Bengaluru’s police more accessible online to supporting an Indian diplomatic mission’s digital outreach in Mexico, Lokesh’s career has taken a unique route. The appreciation letters offer recognition for work that has continued beyond the city where his social media journey began.
(Edited by Saptak Datta)