PTI
Chandigarh
Sangeeta Rani Kalia, SP of Fatehabad district, was on Saturday shunted out, a day after a spat with Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij, becoming the second woman IPS officer to be unceremoniously shifted in two months, triggering angry reactions against him from the opposition and on social media.
An official statement said Kalia, a 2010-batch IPS officer, and two other officers, have been transferred by the state government. She has been posted as Commandant 4th IRB at Manesar relieving Vikas Dhankar of the additional charge.
The minister had on Thursday stormed out of a meeting of the District Grievances and Public Relations Committee after the police officer refused to follow his order to leave the venue following heated exchanges between them. The video of their spat went viral on social media.
During the meeting, an NGO had brought to Vij's notice that illegal selling of alcohol was rampant in Ratia area, which also shares its boundary with Punjab.
Notably, Vij, who is known for his outspoken nature even taking on his own government, said that he had been getting complaints of drug mafia and liquor mafia being active.
“Yesterday, one NGO complained to police, but she (Kalia) shouted back at the NGO asking why it was complaining to the Minister. That itself shows that she is not cooperating,” he told reporters.
“Before media, the lady officer blamed entire government, saying government is involved in the sale of illegal liquor. I have spoken to the Chief Minister. There is one thing I want to make clear that my fight against inefficient officers and employees will continue,” he said.
“I am ready to pay any price and make sacrifice for getting justice for people who face harassment at the hands of administration,” he said.
The incident drew sharp reactions on social media, with several coming out in support of Kalia, saying the Minister should have exercised restraint in the manner in which he dealt with the officer, including asking her to “get out” in front of the Committee members.
Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said in Karnal that he had taken cognizance of the matter and it will be dealt with appropriately.
The opposition slammed Vij over his comments while Chairman of National Commission for Scheduled Castes, P L Punia, demanded that the Minister should be sacked.
Last month, another woman IPS officer Bharti Arora of 1998 batch was shunted out as Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) following a spat with her senior - Gurgaon Commissioner of Police (CP) Navdeep Singh Virk with the BJP government deciding to act against her.
Arora had accused Virk of going out of the way to help a rape case victim resulting in allegations against each other.
