Personal rivalries, sometimes linked to ambition, among senior Kerala police officials have been spilling out in the open for some time now. Most vent their spleen on social media platforms, despite stern orders prohibiting this. Last week, R Sreelekha, a 1987-batch IPS officer and the first IPS woman in the Kerala cadre, shot off an FB post alleging that fellow ADGP, Tomin Thachankary, had been harassing her for the past 29 years. She hinted that Thachankary, her successor as State transport commissioner, was instrumental in her being subject to a Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau probe and denial of promotions. Thachankary has denied the allegations and sought permission to prosecute Sreelekha for defamation.

A tepid affair

Despite the hype, the finance ministry’s India Investment summit did not see much participation. While the inaugural session of the two-day meet addressed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley saw a lot of delegates, the numbers rapidly dwindled and by the second day, February 5, there were many vacant seats.

Star attraction always

Bollywood star Salman Khan is always in the news, this time for being ‘enrolled’ in the voter list for the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation polls. A polling official who found an ID card with the actor’s photo, alerted his party leader, who then broke the news to the media.

Trading places

The deal involving an obscure Chinese real estate firm agreeing to buy the 134-year-old Chicago Stock Exchange didn’t fail to raise eyebrows: it would mark the first-ever Chinese purchase of a US equity bourse. The big question is if this deal will pass muster with American regulators. Is it the fear of being snapped up that is making the NSE reluctant to list?

Spoilt for choice

The Maharashtra government is in two minds about where to host the cultural evening as part of the Make in India event to be held in Mumbai from February 13 to 18. The initial plan was to hold it at the iconic Girgaum Chowpatty beach in South Mumbai, but the Bombay High Court disallowed it. Even as the government began work on holding the event in the Bandra Kurla Complex, the Supreme Court stepped in to overrule the High Court. With just a week left to prepare the venue, the organisers are working overtime. “We had almost completed work at the BKC venue. Now we will have to figure out what we can do at Chowpatty. Sometimes too many options can be confusing,” said one organiser.

An unexpected deluge

Insurance companies in Chennai are having sleepless nights. The motor head of a general insurance company said the floods saw many high-end vehicles being completely inundated. Since they fell under total insurance loss, the company decided to auction some of these vehicles at throwaway prices. Some of the luxury cars were priced at a few thousand dollars in the hope of attracting buyers. Insurance companies were quite unprepared for the deluge of buyers that followed. It seems that people just want to own a BMW or a Merc, never mind the fortune it would cost to repair them or the possibility that they wouldn’t even start.

Running against time

Fifteen days is what Indians get to respond to recommendations of a high-level committee on company law. The response time — till February 15 — is short, rued a corporate governance professional, given that the committee took seven months to firm up its views. To top it all, the panel wants changes that affect as many as 100 sections of company law enacted in 2013! Be prepared for more legislative action in the Budget session, say corporate affairs ministry insiders.

Seen

“Abki Baar, Mondhi Sarkar” — sign on an autorickshaw in Ahmedabad. Spelling error? No, it’s a play on words. “Mondhi” in Gujarati means expensive.

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