'Nagara Naam' Meets GTA: Guwahati Police's Unique Anti-Stunt Riding Campaign Goes Viral

A 25-year-old man from Nalbari was booked by Guwahati Traffic Police for allegedly riding a scooty recklessly and endangering public safety on city roads. The accused, identified as Nikunoni Narzary, was intercepted after traffic personnel reportedly spotted him performing dangerous stunt-like manoeuvres in public areas.

Police said multiple violations were detected during the interception, including reckless driving, failure to carry valid documents, violation of safety norms, improper use of the vehicle, and other breaches under the Motor Vehicles Act. Legal action has been initiated against the rider.

The incident gained wider attention after Guwahati Police released an Instagram video highlighting reckless driving through a GTA-inspired visual style mixed with Assamese folk performance elements like Nagara Naam. Notably, a "GTA-style ride" usually refers to speeding, stunting, or navigating through traffic with aggressive maneuvers, similar to the driving mechanics in the Grand Theft Auto series.

"A team from Guwahati Traffic Police had to hit the brakes on one Nikunoni Narzary (25) of Nalbari after his scooty ride (AS01GS6880) appeared to confuse public roads with a video game stunt track," Guwahati City Police wrote. 

Watch the video here:

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A post shared by Guwahati City Police (@guwahatipolice)

According to Tituraj Kashyap Das, who has led the Guwahati Police social media communication strategy since 2021, the campaign was designed to connect with younger audiences without diluting the seriousness of the road safety message.

"The idea was never to create a routine advisory video," Das said, crediting graphic designer Jyotirmoy Bhargav for shaping the visual execution. "Today, messaging has to resonate emotionally or culturally, or else it gets ignored. We used humour, gaming aesthetics, and Assamese folk music to create a strong recall factor while keeping the focus firmly on the menace of reckless driving," he added. 

"We are happy to see that the engagement largely came from our target age group (18-34 years). We have always believed that content should remain the mainstay — something I learned from Harmeet Singh Sir, Director General of Police, Assam. We have also had the good fortune of working under a very supportive Commissioner of Police in Dr. Partha Sarathi Mahanta Sir, whose deep interest in Assamese literature and culture has been an added advantage," he said further. 

The campaign primarily targeted users between 18 and 34 years of age and relied on satire, humour and pop-culture aesthetics to improve retention and audience engagement. The video combined chaotic riding visuals with rhythmic folk narration to deliver a culturally relatable yet hard-hitting warning against dangerous driving practices.

The campaign won praise from many on social media, with one user joking, "The song selection is more dangerous than the criminals." Another said, "Guwahati police have for sure hired a GenZ in their social media team."