Desi Cartman Posted June 3, 2008 Posted June 3, 2008 CHANDIGARH/MOHALI: Has the SSP who took on Team Mohali owner Ness Wadia in a publicly fought bitter slanging match paid for locking horns with the business scion? Indications are that he might have been. On Monday, the SSP, Ranbir Singh Khatra, suddenly went on a long ex-India leave. There was little explanation given by the police top brass though Punjab chief secretary Ramesh Inder Singh confirm the officer had asked for, and been granted, the leave. Sources, however, said Khatra had rubbed a lot of influential people the wrong way after he got into a verbal duel with Ness. He later said that Ness had called him a "low class person", something that the businessman denied. Sukhbir Badal, the SAD president, is reportedly unhappy at the way the Mohali police on the orders of Khatra went about first slapping huge "security bills" of Rs 1.88 crore against PCA and then challaning BCCI honcho Lalit Modi for smoking in a public place. Sukhbir is also president, coordinating committee, of IPL Mohali. While Khatra was unavailable on Monday, Punjab DGP NPS Aulakh said it was a routine affair. "Khatra had sought ex-India leave and reacting to it Punjab's home ministry has granted him the same," he said, adding that the officer had not yet been transferred and that no new SSP would be given the charge till Khatra is on leave. SP (headquarter) Harinderjit Singh Sidhu would be given the charge in his absence. Many in the police, though, saw it coming. In fact, Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal had to intervene after Khatra asked PCA to pay the Mohai police almost Rs 2 crore for the security provided during matches. It is the duty of the police to have a security system in place, the CM had said wading in the row. PCA eventually shelled out Rs 10 lakh for the police welfare fund and another Rs 10 lakh for food and other facilities for personnel deployed during IPL. But in his 18-month tenure as SSP, Khatra has taken on the high and mighty, even within the police department. Known to have political backing, he had once refused to shift an officer under him even after directions came from the DGP. He had also got into a tangle with IGP Sanjeev Gupta, who subsequently wrote to the DGP that Khatra was trying to frame him in a landgrab case. Ironically, even his last day in office before commencement of his leave saw Khatra receiving a "strict letter" from the DGP asking him about lapses by the Mohali police in a case of fraud registered on February 20, 2008. The DGP has sought a written explanation from him and asked why action should not be taken against him and DSP, Cyber Crime, Hargobind Singh. Despite the DGP's insistence that Khatra wasn't being transferred, a race for the post has begun and senior officers are pitching for heading the police team in what is one of Punjab's most booming districts. Link So its ok to smoke and abuse a cop if u r rich .. well done ... to law and order :finger:
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