The superintendent of Jangipur police district V.G. Satish Pasumarthi on Monday evening cycled around 35km on NH12 in a bid to get views from people about police and policing.

The impromptu move by the IPS officer surprised many, including his junior officers in a police station who met him as an ordinary cyclist.

"During his 35km ride, he stopped at different places and interacted with people, observed the traffic police personnel on roads and tried to know from common people their thoughts about policing. He also tried to find out if people had any grievances against the force or against any officer," said a police officer close to the SP.

A source said the SP went out of his office in Jangipur around 5pm on Monday on his sports bicycle. He asked his security to follow him from at least a kilometre away so as not to draw attention.

He started his tour on NH12 and first stopped at a tea stall in Ahiron. Sipping tea, he sat on a bench with people and interacted with them for around half an hour. He again stopped at another tea stall at Sajur More and followed the same course of action.

Ahiran and Sajur More are around 10km and 21km away from the SP office in Jangipur where he started his journey.

Rashid Sheikh, a villager from the Sajur More area said he and others who were present at the tea stall could not realise that the person who was speaking to them was actually the SP.

“He stopped at the tea stall like many other cyclists or motorcyclists who visit the shop for a break.... He looked like a sportsman. He ordered a cup of tea and started a conversation with me and others. He was asking about how police are working in the area.... After the end of the talk, he informed me that he was the SP. It was really interesting as for the first time we saw a senior police officer who bothered to know about the ground reality from common people like us..” said Rashid, a farmer in his early 40s.

The SP, wearing a black helmet, a white T-shirt, black trousers and sneakers, finally reached Suti police station around 8pm. He put his bicycle in front of the police station and entered inside to witness the officers working on their tables. The officer-in-charge of the police station Prasun Mitra was not in office.

“We were surprised to see our SP sir as we had no idea about his visit. We hurriedly got up from the chair and greeted him. He watched our work and roamed around the police station. The OC also hurried back to the police station,” a police source said.

The SP said he was passionate about cycling from his college days in Hyderabad.

“I have been a bicycle enthusiast since my college days. I went out as a common cyclist to know traffic management, interact with the people and watch how a police station runs. Being impromptu helps me get the right information.... However, everything was alright and I did not get any negative impression about cops from people,” said the SP.