Modern-era ‘Don’ Shah Rukh Khan has become the first Indian actor to be roped in as Ambassador of Interpol’s initiative ‘Turn Back Crime’ campaign, aimed at promoting greater awareness on how to prevent crime.

The actor who gave new twist to Amitabh Bachchan’s character ‘Don’ in the Farhan Akhtar’s remake of the movie, tweeted late night yesterday, “Don on the right side of Interpol. How ironically cool is that...ha ha.”

“Honoured to be the Ambassador for Turn Back Crime, the Interpol initiative. Thanx Mr. Noble for the opportunity,” the actor wrote on his social media page.

The multi-award winning actor, the first Indian to be made an Ambassador for the global campaign, is lending his voice to help spread the message that all of society benefits when citizens respect the law and fight crime, Interpol said in a statement released from its headquarters in Lyon, France.

Khan joins actor Jackie Chan as an Ambassador for the campaign, which has already garnered support from public figures including footballer Lionel Messi, Formula 1 racing drivers Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen in addition to law enforcement agencies around the world, it said.

The ‘Turn Back Crime’ campaign is aimed at raising public awareness that organised crime is often involved in seemingly unrelated crimes.

“It’s a very special honour to be a part of INTERPOL’s ‘Turn Back Crime’ campaign as an Ambassador. As Mahatma Gandhi once said, ‘I shall not fear anyone on Earth. I shall fear only God. I shall not bear ill-will toward anyone. I shall not submit to injustice from anyone. I shall conquer untruth by truth. And in resisting untruth, I shall put up with all suffering, if I have to’.

“We all should believe in this maxim and in whatever way possible resolve not to let unjust people who might threaten us with criminal activity make us fear them. Because I believe we can, we should, and we must stand together against the few who commit crimes against any human being, in whatever form or guise these crimes might take,” Khan was quoted as saying in the statement.

Interpol Secretary General Ronald K Noble said “Shah Rukh Khan has dedicated his life to making films which reflect the highest level of professionalism and commitment to bringing joy into the lives of hundreds of millions of film goers in India and around the world”.

“We are honoured to have him as an Ambassador for Interpol’s global Turn Back Crime campaign and we look forward to seeing how he puts his artistic talents behind this campaign,” he said.

The campaign by the international police body is aimed to make people understand better that most of the crimes are related and spoils are moved from one crime area to another.

The campaign will also try to make public aware about potential criminals on the internet who might dupe them buying products or using the Internet. The world body is also trying to reach out to companies and policy-makers in a bid to form a united front against contemporary crime challenges, and to support the ongoing activities of the global law enforcement community.

“Drugs trafficking, people smuggling, counterfeiting, cybercrime, kidnapping, crimes against children and corruption in sport are in fact often interconnected, with profits from one crime area used to fund another,” the Interpol said.

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