Don't need security; quick investigation must happen: Khemka

Chandigarh, Nov 5: Senior Haryana IAS officer Ashok Khemka, who stirred a political storm by alleging irregularities in the

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land deals, today said he feels there is no need of security being provided to him and he wants a fair and quick investigation into the threat received by him.

The man who allegedly made threat call to Khemka was arrested from Gurgaon last week by Panchkula police.

The senior IAS officer met Chief Secretary PK Chaudhery here today, who had called him for a meeting in the wake of the threat calls.

After meeting Chaudhery, who is also President of the State IAS Officers' Association, for nearly 45 minutes in the latter's office in the Civil Secretariat building, Khemka told reporters that it was a "privileged communication and there is nothing for the media that I can brief".

However, when asked to comment on the man arrested who is alleged to have made one of the threat calls to his office in Panchkula recently, Khemka said that he had given a statement to the police about this.

Khemka had last week said he had got two threat calls within a fortnight. Umaid Singh, arrested last week, was an employee of the Haryana Housing Board and was dismissed from service by Khemka in 2006 when he was administrator of the board, the Panchkula police had earlier maintained.

When asked if he feels the need for security, Khemka today said, "I have very clearly said that security is a state of mind. I don't need that security paraphernalia."

He felt that if the media persons, who are "doing much more hazardous work than I do, don't need the security cover," then he also does not see any need.

"You (media) report such dangerous activities, venture into such dangerous things. If you don't get security, how can special security be deserving for me. And I always consider that security paraphernalia is a kind of showing distinction between the ruler and the ruled."

PTI