Haryana IPS officer’s death: Oppn. steps up heat on BJP govt., calls for impartial probe

Opposition parties on Thursday cornered the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Haryana over the poor law and order situation in the wake of the alleged death by suicide of the Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Y. Puran Kumar even as his wife, Amneet Kumar, demanded the registration of an FIR against individuals named in the note left behind by the deceased officer.

Kumar, 52, was found dead with a gunshot wound at his Chandigarh residence on October 7. The 2001-batch IPS officer was stationed as Inspector General at the Police Training Centre (PTC), Sunaria, in Haryana’s Rohtak.

In a ‘note’ left behind by the officer, he reportedly named multiple senior police officers and described incidents of mental harassment and humiliation spanning several years, sources said. Ms. Kumar, who is an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer posted in Haryana, has urged Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini to intervene in the matter and register an FIR against all the individuals named in the note left by her husband as well as those in her police complaint. She placed her demands in front of the Chief Minister when he visited her official residence to offer condolences to the bereaved family.

Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, said Puran Kumar’s death by suicide symbolises the “deepening social poison that is crushing humanity in the name of caste”. “When an IPS officer has to endure humiliation and oppression because of his caste – then imagine, in what conditions an ordinary Dalit citizen must be living. The murder of Hariom Valmiki in Raebareli, the insult to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and now Puranji’s death – these incidents show that injustice against the deprived classes has reached its peak…,” he said on X.

Mr. Gandhi added, “The hatred and Manuvadi ideology of BJP-RSS have filled society with venom. Dalits, tribals, backward classes, and Muslims are gradually losing hope for justice.”

Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress president and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, said, “The BJP’s ‘Manuvadi’ system has become a curse for the SC, ST, OBC, and weaker sections of this country…”

Congress general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal, in a post on X, said, “Under the BJP’s rule – from the highest judge of the land to a senior IPS officer to an anonymous young passerby in Raebareli – as long as you are a Dalit, you will face dehumanising and violent treatment.”

Call for impartial probe

Former Haryana Chief Minister and Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Bhupinder Singh Hooda demanded an impartial investigation into the case. 

Jannayak Janta Party national president Ajay Singh Chautala demanded a high-level inquiry into the matter, which he described as “extremely serious”.

Terming the BJP as “anti-Dalit”, Indian National Lok Dal president Ajay Chautala demanded a high-level probe into the case.

Those in distress may contact Sanjivini, Society for Mental Health suicide prevention helpline 011-40769002.