Pune civic officials have ordered action against unauthorised flex banners advertising a hotel inauguration on Sinhagad Road after one banner displayed the name and photograph of a police officer of Deputy Commissioner of Police rank as the chief guest. The banner was installed beside a Pune Municipal Corporation warning board threatening criminal cases against those putting up illegal hoardings.
The banners were reported along the stretch from Pu La Deshpande Udyan to Dhayari Phata, including one at the Rajaram Bridge junction. The advertisement carried the police officer’s name and a large photograph while identifying the officer as the inauguration’s chief guest, according to Civic Mirror – Pune.
The location has drawn attention because the unauthorised banner stood immediately next to the civic body’s warning sign. The sign states that cases will be registered against people installing unauthorised hoardings. The juxtaposition has raised questions about how effectively Pune’s enforcement system is monitoring public advertising spaces.
Sandeep Kadam, deputy commissioner of the Pune Municipal Corporation’s Sky Sign Department, told Civic Mirror – Pune that the matter was serious. He said instructions had been issued to the relevant assistant commissioners to take immediate action against the illegal flex banners. Kadam also said legal action would be taken against those responsible for using the names and photographs of police officers on unauthorised banners.
The report said similar banners had previously appeared near Rajaram Bridge carrying the names of officers from Nanded City, Sinhagad Road and Alankar police stations. Citizens complained about those banners, which were removed two days later, but similar displays were subsequently put up again.
The reported incident comes amid a wider increase in flex banners used for advertising, political publicity and event promotion across Pune’s roads, junctions and footpaths. The report said banners associated with current and former corporators, political workers and office-bearers have continued to appear across the city, with enforcement emerging as a recurring concern.
According to the report, police officers are permitted to attend social and cultural events, but police regulations prohibit public advertising boards carrying the names or photographs of police officers. The article said such displays have nevertheless been used repeatedly, including for commercial publicity.
The use of police identities on a hotel advertisement also raises an institutional question distinct from the unauthorised placement of the banner itself: whether the officer’s name and photograph were used with permission and who authorised the display. The supplied report does not record a response from the police officer featured on the banner, the hotel, or the organisers of the inauguration.
The municipal corporation’s stated next step is immediate removal of the unauthorised flex banners and legal action against the responsible persons. The effectiveness of that response will depend on whether the banners are removed permanently and whether responsibility is established for both the illegal installation and the use of police identities.
