Dalit IPS officer's suicide testament to social injustice of BJP's 'Manuwadi system': Kharge

New Delhi, Oct 9 (PTI) Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday blamed the BJP's 'Manuwadi system' for the alleged suicide of a senior Dalit IPS officer of Haryana due to reported harassment by his seniors, and said the case is a horrific testament to social injustice, inhumanity and insensitivity.

In a post on X, Kharge claimed the unjust system fostered by the BJP and RSS has repeatedly crushed the self-respect of Dalits, Adivasis, backward classes, and minorities, which is fatal for the Constitution and democracy.

"The BJP's 'Manuwadi' system has become a curse for the SC, ST, OBC, and weaker sections of this country. The news of the forced suicide of Haryana's senior Dalit IPS officer, ADGP Y Puran Kumar, is not only shocking but also a horrific testament to social injustice, inhumanity, and insensitivity. My deepest condolences to the family," Kharge said in a post on X.

In the last 11 years, the BJP has so deeply entrenched the Manuwadi mentality in this country that even a Dalit officer of ADGP rank did not receive justice or a fair hearing, Kharge claimed.

"When the Chief Justice of India can be openly attacked in the Supreme Court, and the BJP's ecosystem can defend it by citing casteism and religion, we must understand that the slogan of 'Sabka Saath' was a crude joke.

"The exploitative habit of the Manuwadi mentality, which has persisted for thousands of years, cannot change so quickly. That is why an unarmed Dalit like Hariom Valmiki is brutally murdered in mob lynching, and Prime Minister Modi ji does not even utter two words of condemnation," the Congress chief claimed.

"This is not just the tragedy of a few individuals -- it is a mirror of the unjust system fostered by the BJP and RSS, which has repeatedly crushed the self-respect of Dalits, Adivasis, backward classes, and minorities. This is fatal for the Constitution and democracy," Kharge added.

Y Puran Kumar (52), a 2001-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, was found dead in his Chandigarh residence on Tuesday.

Kumar's body with a gunshot wound was found in a room in the basement of his Sector 11 residence.

Sources said that in an alleged typed and signed eight-page suicide note, Kumar spoke about blatant caste-based discrimination, targeted mental harassment, and public humiliation by some senior officers for the past five years, which, he claimed, were unbearable.

The 52-year-old officer, known for his interventions in matters related to the rights of officers, seniority and other issues, was recently posted as inspector general, Police Training Centre (PTC), Sunaria, Rohtak.

His wife Amneet P Kumar, an IAS officer serving as commissioner and secretary in the Department of Foreign Cooperation, Haryana government, was in Japan as part of a delegation led by Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini at the time of the incident, and returned immediately.

According to Chandigarh Police, a "will" and "final note" was recovered from the scene along with other evidence. PTI SKC ARI