Deepender Hooda calls for SC judge-monitored probe into IPS officer's 'suicide case'

Chandigarh, Oct 10 (PTI) Congress leader Deepender Singh Hooda on Friday demanded a Supreme Court judge-monitored probe into Haryana IPS officer Y Puran Kumar's "suicide case".

"The suicide of Haryana's senior IPS officer is extremely tragic. It has shocked not only the state but the entire country. The entire system is under a cloud of suspicion," the Rohtak MP said.

Hooda said that a fair and independent investigation would be possible only under the supervision of a sitting Supreme Court judge.

He said the government's primary responsibility in the matter is to restore public confidence in the system, and this will only happen when justice is served.

"The entire country, especially the Dalit community, is looking to the government to ensure that justice is delivered and that no one can influence the investigation," Hooda said.

Y Puran Kumar, a 52-year-old 2001-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, was found with a gunshot wound in a room at his residence in Sector 11, Chandigarh.

The Chandigarh Police on Friday constituted a six-member Special Investigation Team for "prompt, impartial and thorough investigation" into the "suicide case".

Hooda said the complaint lodged by Kumar's wife Amneet Kumar based on his "final note" names several senior Haryana Police officers, alleges harassment and caste discrimination, and raises other serious questions about the entire system.

"Such allegations pertaining to some of the seniormost police officers are extremely serious and worrying. Now justice is possible only through an impartial investigation," the Congress leader said.

The Chandigarh Police registered an FIR late on Thursday evening with charges of abetment to suicide and some provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act based on a "final note" by the deceased police officer. Kumar's note named several senior IPS officers, and specifically referred to Haryana DGP Shatrujeet Kapur and Rohtak SP Narendra Bijarniya, for allegedly harassing and maligning him.

The eight-page final note also has accounts of alleged harassment, including caste-based discrimination, by some other officers. PTI SUN RUK RUK