Columnist and socialite Shobha De learnt a lesson in being killed with kindness when a policeman she fat shamed with a tweet last year expressed his gratitude for changing his life. De is known for making inappropriate comments against people on social media.

She has made it a habit of rubbing people the wrong way with her jibes and has previously picked on famous people like Deepika Padukone, Sonam Kapoor, Indian Olympics team, Prime Minister Modi and Gopinath Munde’s family. But she hit a new low in February 2017, when the object of her ruthless attacks was a commoner, a police inspector from Madhya Pradesh. Mistaking him for one of the police personnel in charge of bandobast duty during BMC elections, De made a rather crass remark about the police constable’s weight. Here’s the Tweet.

Heavy police bandobast in Mumbai today! pic.twitter.com/sY0H3xzXl3 — Shobhaa De (@DeShobhaa) February 21, 2017

The Mumbai Police was quick to point out her mistake, stating that the uniform worn by the inspector indicated he wasn’t from the city’s police force.

We love puns too Ms De but this one is totally imisplaced. Uniform/official not ours. We expect better from responsible citizens like you. https://t.co/OcKOoHO5bX — Mumbai Police (@MumbaiPolice) February 21, 2017

De was also accused of fat shaming by Twitter users who were not impressed by the tasteless jibe against the cop. It was later understood that the cop in question was Inspector Daulatram Jogawat, who had gained weight on account of an insulin imbalance caused by a gall bladder operation.

What started as a mean joke led to an outpouring of support for the inspector. He soon underwent a bariatric surgery for free at Saifee Hospital under renowned surgeon Dr Muffazal Lakdawala. Now 65 kilos lighter, Daulatram is a new man, but barely holds any grudges against the woman who poked fun of him and made him a national joke…at least for a short while.

In an article published in The Mumbai Mirror, Daulatram expressed his desire to meet Shobha De and personally thank her; after all, it was her insult that spurred him to lose weight in the first place. Calling her mean-spirited tweet ‘life-saving,' the cop said that he will wait till he sheds an additional 30 kilos before he meets her. He also referred to her as “his elder sister.”

De, obviously moved by the cop’s kindness has agreed to meet him. She’s probably learnt it the hard way that the rest of the world doesn’t share her mean-spirited outlook towards life. More importantly, we applaud Daulatram Jogawat for receiving an unintentionally constructive criticism in the most nicest spirit ever.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 09, 2018 02:31 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).