Sharma says Surat is a "challenge"

VADODARA, Dec 21: Kuldip Sharma, who takes over the reins of the beleaguered Surat police force, will have his hands full right from day one. He accepts the posting as a challenge.

Asked how he proposed to tackle the investigation of the murder of BJP Mahila Morcha chief Nita Satbhaya, the outgoing Vadodara police commissioner replied, “As a serious crime.” Reminded that one of his predecessors, P K Datta who reportedly possessed a no-nonsense reputation similar to Sharma’s ruffled many a feather among a section of officials tacitly backing Surat’s crime syndicate, Sharma said, “I will work out the strategy to deal with such situations only after I take over in Surat.”

Asked how he viewed his transfer in view of the steps he had initiated in improving policing in Vadodara, he said, “I did have a lot of work left in Vadodara”.

On whether any politics was involved in his transfer, he said there was no such thing. “Surat is a bigger city, considered to be second only to Ahmedabad from the law and order point of view", he said.