2025: IPS officer suicide, busting of 'white-collar' terror module mark Haryana's unquiet year

Chandigarh, Dec 26 (PTI) The alleged suicide by a senior IPS officer and busting of a "white-collar" terror module linked to the Delhi car blast were among the key highlights in the year 2025 which also brought more electoral success for the ruling BJP in Haryana.

The BJP, after its third consecutive win in the October 2024 assembly polls, maintained its winning momentum sweeping the civic polls in March 2025 while the Congress, which was looking to turn around its electoral fortunes, drew a blank.

In November, the busting of a terror module hogged the headlines for weeks and prompted authorities to put Haryana on maximum alert.

Just a month before busting of the terror module, another development which also made it to national headlines was the alleged suicide of a senior IPS officer, which triggered a chain of events and also resulted in the then DGP Shatrujeet Kapur being relieved from the post.

Y Puran Kumar (52), a 2001-batch IPS officer, allegedly shot himself dead at his Sector 11 private residence here on October 7.

In an eight-page purported final note, Kumar accused multiple senior officers of "blatant caste-based discrimination, public humiliation and atrocities".

Kumar’s IAS wife Amneet P Kumar, is currently serving in Haryana government. It was a week after her husband's death that she finally gave consent for postmortem after receiving assurance from the Chandigarh Police that a fair probe will be conducted.

A twist in Kumar suicide case came when an assistant sub-inspector, Sandeep Kumar, who was posted in the cyber cell in Rohtak, allegedly shot himself dead days after the IPS officer took the extreme step. He also left behind a "final note" that levelled corruption allegations against the late IPS officer Kumar.

In November, the "white collar" terror module was busted by the Jammu and Kashmir Police along with their counterparts in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana and it led the investigators to Faridabad's Al Falah University as some of its faculty were linked to the blast near Delhi's Red Fort.

Recovery of 2,900 kg of explosives was made from two villages in Faridabad district and Dr Muzzamil Ganaie, a resident of south Kashmir's Pulwama district, was among the first arrested in Faridabad among the many including some Kashmiri doctors who were later arrested in the case.

Later on, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) took over the probe in the "white-collar" terror module linked to the Delhi car blast that left 15 people dead in the Red Fort area on November 10.

Again in November, Haryana, which is known as India's sporting powerhouse, saw the loss of two young basketball players--Hardik Rathi (16) and another teen Aman (15)--who died in eerily similar accidents after the iron pole of the hoop crushed them on court during practice.

The twin tragedies in Rohtak and Jhajjar districts brought the state's sports infrastructure under scrutiny.

The year also saw many Haryana youths being deported by the US after they had taken the treacherous 'donkey route' to enter the country.

In May, the stand-off between Punjab and Haryana over water sharing intensified with Haryana asking the AAP government in the neighbouring state to allow the release of water from the Bhakra dam unconditionally.

Many Haryana districts were impacted by heavy rains and floods this monsoon and 12 people lost their lives in house collapse incidents.

In September, Rao Narender Singh was appointed as the new state Congress president while former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda was appointed as the CLP leader.

Senior leader Sampat Singh quit the Congress, month after he took a dig over Hooda's appointment as the CLP leader.

In mid-November, the Congress launched a month-long statewide protests after Rahul Gandhi alleged that 2024 Haryana assembly polls were "stolen", citing electoral roll data to claim that 25 lakh entries were fake and the Election Commission colluded with the BJP to ensure its victory.

Reacting to this, Haryana BJP leaders slammed Gandhi for making "unfounded" claims, and undermining the people’s verdict.

During the year, the Congress targeted the Nayab Saini government on several issues including law and order, unemployment, MGNREGA, Aravalli, SYL, corruption, and drugs.

Towards the year end, the opposition party brought a no-confidence motion in the state assembly against the government which was defeated.

In June, Gandhi's visit to Haryana set in motion setting up of the party's organisational structure in the state as it did not have a formal structure in place for the past 11 years.

Haryana minister Anil Vij created a stir with his statement, accusing that some people were running a "parallel BJP" in his home constituency Ambala Cantt, saying they also have the blessings of the senior leaders.

This was, however, not the first time that the 72-year-old BJP veteran had been so outspoken on any issue which troubles him.

In less than a year after it came to power for third consecutive term, the Saini government implemented several poll promises including the key 'Deen Dayal Lado Lakshmi Yojana', under which the government has decided to release a consolidated amount to eligible beneficiaries quarterly (Rs 2,100 per month).

As the year rolled by, among other events saw President Droupadi Murmu take a sortie in a Rafale fighter jet from the Indian Air Force Station in Ambala in October, an experience she later described as "unforgettable".

The year also witnessed Justice Surya Kant, who comes from Petwar village in Hisar district, take oath as the 53rd Chief Justice of India, and Ashim Kumar Ghosh (81) taking oath as Haryana's new Governor succeeding Bandaru Dattatraya.

Abhay Singh Chautala was appointed as Indian National Lok Dal's national president.

Also, Hansi became Haryana's 23rd district in December.

In November, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid obeisance at a religious event held in Kurukshetra to mark the 350th martyrdom anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur and also took part in the International Gita Festival. PTI SUN VSD KVK KVK