Merin and (below) Natalia

Sept. 12: Phew! The air has been cleared before a feisty fan of Merin Joseph could do to Kochi, Kerala’s commercial capital, what Vladimir Putin did to Crimea.

When Putin annexed Crimea, one joke in the middle of the international crisis was that the real trophy was Natalia Poklonskaya, a fetching prosecutor who was appointed the attorney-general. Natalia became a social media sensation after a video of the “battle-ready heroine’s” media briefing went viral, not in Russia but in Japan.

Cut to Kerala, where Natalia’s fate has “befallen” Merin, a trainee IPS officer. Her photographs have gone viral on the Internet, drawing thousands of admirers and comments, not all of them charitable.

Figuring out why certain things happen on the Internet is an audacious adventure but the consensus so far appears to be crediting Merin’s charisma for the 20,000-plus “likes” her Facebook page has attracted in less than 36 hours.

Fuel was added to the wildfire on the Net by claims — premature, as it turned out — that she is scheduled to take over as the next assistant commissioner of police in Kochi.

Congratulatory messages flooded Merin’s Facebook page as “fans” shared her snaps with gusto. Photographs of Merin, a St. Stephen’s alumna, training at the National Police Academy also flew thick and fast.

Some fans wanted to surrender before her. Some resolved to start stealing from the next day so that they could get arrested by the cop.

The wishful thinking appeared to trace its roots to an onscreen dialogue made popular by a Malayalam superstar who has a way with catch phrases.

Another comment, under a snap of Merin and fellow trainees in battle greens, teased her for posing for the picture while her mates were poring over what looks like a map.

With no sign of a lull in sight, Merin stepped forward and issued a clarification.

“An urgent clarification — i am NOT the new ACP of Kochi. Still under training in NPA Hyderabad. Will update when I get my first charge in January next year. Kindly refrain from believing baseless rumours floating in social media. Thanks,” Merin wrote, probably disappointing those who were pining to get handcuffed by her.

Merin, who cleared the civil services examination in her first attempt in 2012, is a BA honours graduate from St. Stephen’s and grew up in Delhi. A comment under one of the snaps, apparently by a family friend, says she resembles her father Babu Abraham, an IES officer.

The “alarming” popularity her looks fetched on social media has also set off a debate, with some terming it sexist.