AAP slams BJP over Dalit IPS officer's suicide, cites caste discrimination

New Delhi, Oct 10 (PTI) The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday accused the BJP of fostering caste-based discrimination after the alleged suicide of Haryana-cadre IPS officer Y Puran Kumar, claiming he faced harassment and humiliation for being a Dalit.

There was no immediate response available from the BJP over the allegations.

AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal expressed concern over "the rising tide of caste hatred" in India, referring to two recent incidents -- the shoe attack on Chief Justice of India B R Gavai, who belongs to a Dalit community, and the suicide of Puran Kumar in Haryana, an official statement of AAP said.

In a post on X, Kejriwal said, "Dalit IPS officer Puran Kumar faced such unbearable caste discrimination that he ended his life. The culprits must face the strictest punishment. When the Chief Justice of India is attacked with a shoe, BJP trolls on social media abuse Dalits and even insult Babasaheb Ambedkar. What have they turned India into?" At a press conference, AAP Delhi chief Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged that Kumar had been repeatedly harassed despite complaints to senior Haryana officials, including the chief secretary and the DGP.

He claimed that the officer's wife, a senior IAS official, also highlighted attempts to implicate him in a false case.

"For the last three days, the Dalit community, the CJI, and Babasaheb B R Ambedkar have been openly abused on social media. Yet there are attempts to deny casteism," Bharadwaj said.

Senior AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said the officer's suicide note named 15 senior officers and exposed "systematic persecution" under BJP rule.

"Even after 75 years of Independence, Dalits, backward classes, Adivasis, and minorities are being treated like animals. This is BJP's 'New India,' where, from the Chief Justice to IPS officers, everyone is being punished for being Dalit," he said.

The Chandigarh Police have constituted a six-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the officer's death. PTI MHS RHL