FIR filed in IPS Y Puran Kumar death case; names those in suicide note

Chandigarh: Chandigarh police on Thursday registered an FIR in connection with the 'suicide' case of Haryana IPS officer Y Puran Kumar against accused mentioned in the 'final note' left by the deceased, an official statement said on Thursday night.

A 'final note' had been left behind by Haryana Police officer Y Puran Kumar, who allegedly shot himself dead at his Chandigarh residence on Tuesday, which named "senior officers" from the state and detailed "mental harassment and humiliation" he allegedly faced over the past few years, according to sources.

"An FIR under Section 108 rw 3(5) (abetment of suicide) and 3 (1) (r) POA (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, has been registered against the accused mentioned in the final note. Further investigations is underway," Chandigarh police said in a brief statement.

When asked about the next course of action, a Chandigarh police official said, "We will investigate the allegations which have been levelled."

The body of Kumar (52), a 2001-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer who was recently posted as the inspector general of the Police Training Centre (PTC) in Rohtak's Sunaria, was found with a gunshot wound in a room at the basement of his Sector 11 house.

His wife, Amneet P Kumar, a senior bureaucrat in the Haryana government, sought Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini's intervention on Thursday to ensure that an FIR is lodged against those named in the "suicide note".

Some Dalit groups and opposition parties had also demanded action in the matter.

In the evening, Saini held a meeting with top officials of his government in the wake of certain developments related to Kumar's "suicide".

The sources said the government could contemplate some action in the matter.

State DGP Shatrujeet Kapur, against whom Amneet Kumar had sought action in connection with her husband's suicide, also met the CM.

Amneet Kumar has also sought action against Rohtak SP.

The deceased officer, in his 'final note', levelled allegations against many Haryana officers, which include nine serving IPS officers and three retired IAS officers.

Known for his interventions in matters related to the rights of officers and seniority, Puran Kumar was recently posted as the Inspector General of the Police Training Centre (PTC) in Rohtak's Sunaria.

His bureaucrat wife, Amneet P Kumar, who rushed to Chandigarh from Japan, where she was a part of a Haryana government delegation, on Wednesday alleged that her husband's death was the result of "systematic persecution" by high-ranking officers.

Physical and electronic evidence, including the weapon Puran Kumar allegedly used to shoot himself, was seized by a team from the Central Forensic Sciences Laboratory (CFSL), Chandigarh police said on Tuesday.

A "will" and a "final note" were also found at the scene and seized, police said earlier.

Sources said that Kumar left an eight-page typed and signed 'final note', which he titled "Continued blatant caste based discrimination, targeted mental harassment, public humiliation and atrocities by concerned senior officers of Haryana since August 2020 which is now unbearable."

The note alleges caste-based discrimination, public humiliation, targeted mental harassment, and atrocities the officer was subjected to, the sources said.

Accompanied by senior bureaucrats, CM Saini went to the official residence of Amneet Kumar at Sector 24 here in the afternoon, after returning from a three-day official visit to Japan. Amneet Kumar had also accompanied the chief minister to Japan as part of a delegation but had to return on Wednesday on hearing the news of her husband's death.

Saini was at Amneet Kumar's residence for nearly 50 minutes.

Besides the chief minister, some of his cabinet colleagues, state BJP chief Mohan Lal Badoli, senior bureaucrats and several opposition leaders also visited Amneet Kumar's residence.

After the meeting chaired by Saini in the evening, representatives from various Dalit outfits met the chief minister at his residence.

They demanded that the government take action in the matter as serious allegations have been levelled in the "suicide note" left behind by the deceased officer, who was a Dalit, and a complaint given to police by his wife.

There is anger among the Dalit community, they told reporters after meeting Saini and said while the chief minister has given certain assurances, the government should take concrete action in the matter.

Earlier in the day, a memorandum was given to the chief minister by Amneet Kumar, in which she sought the immediate registration of an FIR, the suspension and arrest of the accused mentioned in the "suicide note" and a complaint that she later submitted to police, and lifelong security to the family "since powerful, high-ranking officials of Haryana are involved in the case".

Amneet Kumar claimed in her police complaint on Wednesday that her husband's death was the result of "systematic persecution" by high-ranking officers.

Amneet Kumar has allegedly refused to give permission for the post-mortem of her husband's body till justice is delivered, the sources said.

Opposition Congress and INLD demanded an impartial probe into the alleged suicide of Puran Kumar.

Congress MP from Ambala Varun Chaudhary, who met the deceased's family members here, said they are in trauma after the incident. "There should be an inquiry by a high court judge," he said.

In the memorandum submitted to Saini, Amneet Kumar also demanded the immediate suspension and arrest of "all accused persons to prevent interference, tampering with evidence or influence over the investigation" and sought a permanent security cover for her family members, especially her two daughters, who she said are under serious threat and mental distress.

The sources said Puran Kumar has left an eight-page typed and signed "final note", titled "Continued blatant caste-based discrimination, targeted mental harassment, public humiliation and atrocities by concerned senior officers of Haryana since August 2020 which is now unbearable".

The note alleges caste-based discrimination, public humiliation, targeted mental harassment and atrocities that the officer was subjected to, the sources said.

Meanwhile, Puran Kumar's "final note" mentions a "mala fide generation of mischievous anonymous and pseudo-anonymous" complaints against him, floated and processed by some officers for months together to publicly humiliate and embarrass him and thereby damage his reputation, they said.

Kumar, who comes from the Scheduled Caste community, named a few officers who allegedly blatantly misused their official positions and authority, and compelled him to kill himself, according to sources.

Despite complaints against the officers, they were not investigated, the letter claims, sources said.

The note alleges that some officers left no stone unturned in harassing him by their "discriminatory, caste based mental harassment and humiliation in public view."

"... I thought over carefully and was convinced and I cannot bare this continued and concerted conspiracy to continue with caste-based discrimination, public humiliation, targeted mental harassment and atrocities any longer and hence this final decision to end it all," it reads, according to the sources.

He alleges that a top-ranking IPS officer from the state made certain comments in his annual performance appraisal report for the period ending March 31, 2024, which were "factually incorrect, purely imaginary, unsubstantiated, loaded with his personal prejudice and in violation of principles of natural justice."