The Mumbai police department on Friday tweeted a traffic safety note with a quote from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and Indian Twitter couldn’t be more excited about it.
https://twitter.com/MumbaiPolice/status/1055681292187111426
The tweet, which features a Harry Potter quote with a graphic saying, “You Don’t Always Need Deathly Hallows To Evade Death,” garnered more than 1,600 retweets and more than 5,000 likes as of Sunday, quite a jump from the regular engagement on the Twitter page.
*squealing in hogwarts* https://t.co/NBLTqQZZPE
— blahblahblah (@mazenandanwan) October 26, 2018
A Harry Potter reference works everywhere 😍❤️❤️ @jk_rowling #HarryPotter #harrypotterfan #HarryPotterUniverse https://t.co/Fk1QEC3zM8
— Vibha Karnail (@FlakyKarnail) October 26, 2018
Jagruti Verma, a 22-year-old postgraduate student and a transport reporter in Mumbai, as well as a huge Harry Potter fan, said she loves how Mumbai police is making content relatable for a younger audience.
Omgggg!!! Best thing about this morning! ❤️ (CC: @prateeks333, @gargopire, @MrinmayeeRanade, cheers, you all 💛) https://t.co/0st518I6wQ
— Jagruti Verma (@JagrutiVerma) October 26, 2018
It makes it easier for people to come out” and share information with the police, Verma told the Daily Dot.
India has a population of 1.32 billion and has a high record of traffic deaths per year. In 2013, there were 207,551 traffic-related deaths, according to World Health Organization estimates.
The tweet comes after Mumbai police have tried to increase social media following and engagement with memes, GIFs, and sarcastic banter to cater to a younger audience. The tactics helped; in three years, their follower base climbed from 32,000 to more than 4 million. The Daily Dot has reached out to the Mumbai police department for comment.
This is not the first time Indian Harry Potter fans have made headlines. Earlier this year, after an Indian school teacher made a plea to J.K. Rowling to visit her 12-year-old student, the author sent the student and her friends autographed books, handwritten notes, and other swag.