ARIYALUR: A 54-year-old IPS officer, who was staying in Ariyalur while on poll duty, was relieved on Sunday after it was learnt that he had borrowed the rifle of a Armed Reserve personnel and fired it into the air nine times in the wee hours of the day.
The officer Hemant Kalson, from Haryana, took up election observer duty for the Chidambaram Lok Sabha constituency on Saturday. After completing duty, he was staying at the traveller’s bungalow in Ariyalur town. At around 1am on Sunday, Kalson reportedly emerged from the bungalow and asked the cop guarding the entrance — N Manibalan of the Ariyalur Armed Reserve Wing — for his rifle. Manibalan handed over the rifle. To Manibalan’s shock, the IPS officer reportedly fired the rifle into the air nine times before returning to his room.
After his shift, Manibalan, while returning his rifle, told his superior officer what had happened. Based on this, Ariyalur and Perambalur Superintendents of Police — R Srinivasan and Disha Mittal respectively — conducted an inquiry with the Haryana officer. District Collector and Returning Officer M Vijayalakshmi questioned him. Subsequently, he was relieved from duty and sent back by flight. Ariyalur police registered a case against him for careless handling of a weapon.