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Updated: Oct 10, 2017 16:27 IST

A photograph of a policeman standing with folded hands in front of a man and his family of four on one motorcycle was shared widely on Twitter on Tuesday.

The photo, taken in Andhra Pradesh’s Anantapur, shows the policeman pleading as the man sits on the motorcycle with four family members riding pillion. All five people, including two children, are seen without helmets.

The photo was tweeted by Abhishek Goyal, an IPS officer of the Karnataka cadre, at 7 am and has since been retweeted nearly 1900 times. In his tweet, Goyal said, “What else can he do? We always have a choice...choose the safe one!”

What else can he do 😅?



We always have a choice .. chose the safe one ! #BeSafe pic.twitter.com/noLHyAMqBn — Abhishek Goyal (@goyal_abhei) October 10, 2017

The officer with folded hands was identified as B Shubh Kumar of Anantapur’s Madakasira Circle, according to a report in the Indian Express. Kumar, who was headed to work, saw the man, K Hanumantharayudu, on a bike with his two sons sitting on the fuel tank, his wife and a relative behind him.

Kumar encountered the family just after he wrapped up a 1.5 hour long programme on road safety, that the family in question had also attended. Hanumantharayudu was a repeat offender and had been warned on several ocassions, the Indian Express quoted Kumar as saying. “My mind went blank when I saw the five of them riding so dangerously and all I could do was fold my hands in total resignation, helplessness and frustration.”

When confronted, Hanumantharayudu smiled at the inspector. “I asked him to think of the safety of his family as he did not have minimum sense of responsibility towards them. As the two kids were sitting on the fuel tank, he had little room to manoeuvre because their legs were stuck to the handlebar. Accidents happen like that only,” Indian Express reported Kumar as saying.