A group of cheeky punters in the Ujjain District have embarrassed Indian Police with an advert placed in the local paper thanking authorities for allowing them unimpeded betting on the IPL.
The report in the Hindustan Times details the advert expresses the Ujjain Betting Association’s gratitude to Madhya Pradesh police even including photographs of DGP Rishi Kumar Shukla, inspector general of police (IG) Ujjain zone V Madhukumar, and SP Ujjain Manohar Singh Verma.
Police have reportedly filed a First Information Report (FIR) against the chief editor and executive editor of the evening newspaper. The case was lodged under IPC Section 469 (forgery for purpose of harming reputation), 500 (Punishment for defamation), 501(Printing or engraving matter known to be defamatory) and 502 (Sale of printed or engraved substance containing defamatory matter), Superintendent of Police, Verma confirmed.
In response, Chief editor, Ganshyam Patel said he was under the impression that the advert was intended to highlight the alleged large scale betting in the current IPL season in Ujjain and a lack of Police action, the Hindustan Times reports.
“The names and photographs of senior police officers should not have been carried like this. Nobody has the right to defame police in any way. I have taken action against the executive editor Abhay Tirwar and removed him from his post. We have also carried an apology in the paper today,” Patel commented.