Haryana IPS officer 'suicide': Punjab CM meets family; asks Centre, Haryana govt to ensure justice

Chandigarh, Oct 11 (PTI) Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday met the family of Haryana IPS officer Y Puran Kumar, who allegedly died by suicide, and asked the Centre and Haryana government to ensure justice to them.

Mann also sought the intervention of Punjab Governor and UT Chandigarh Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria in the matter.

Kumar, 52, a 2001-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, allegedly shot himself dead at his Sector 11, Chandigarh, residence on Tuesday and left behind a 'final note'.

Speaking to the media after meeting Kumar's family, Mann said they were in deep shock after the incident.

The chief minister said the deceased IPS officer's wife, Amneet Kumar, is a daughter of Punjab, as she was born in the state. She is an IAS officer and is serving Haryana, he said.

Mann said that while Kumar was a senior IPS officer in Haryana, his wife is also a top bureaucrat in the state.

Both served people by delivering them justice. Now, the deceased officer's family is seeking justice, said Mann, referring to the alleged suicide case.

"Is it a conspiracy that the poor cannot be seen occupying high positions and they have to face humiliation?" asked Mann.

Asked about his conversation with Amneet, he said she wants justice in the matter.

Kumar was humiliated every day, said Mann, while referring to the deceased IPS officer's "final note".

Replying to a question, Mann said he urged the Centre and Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini to stand by Kumar's family.

Nobody is above the law, said Mann, stressing action in the matter.

He also said people should feel that justice is being done.

Replying to a question regarding his meeting with the governor earlier, he said he urged his intervention in the matter.

Asked whether the Haryana government is trying to save its top officers, Mann said there must be something when names are not mentioned in the FIR.

Mann said it is open that a particular community is being targeted under a conspiracy.

"The Centre and the state government should give justice to the family by respecting its sentiments," said Mann.

Referring to the incident in which a 71-year-old lawyer allegedly attempted to hurl a shoe towards Chief Justice of India B R Gavai, Mann said the CJI is being trolled, insulted and memes are being made, which is sad.

Referring to the Haryana IPS officer case, Mann said if a person from an ordinary family rises to occupy high positions, even at that level he is not allowed to work and is humiliated, forcing him to take the extreme step.

"We have to think over this; it is a slap on the entire society that how the system is working," said Mann.

Earlier, senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Manish Sisodia met the family of Kumar and expressed grief over the grave tragedy.

After meeting the family, Sisodia said, "I just met the family of IPS officer Y Puran Kumar ji, and they are in an unimaginable state of grief. A well-educated, capable son from a respectable family, pushed to this point only because he was Dalit.

"The way the authorities treated his body, the suspicious police conduct and the attempt to suppress facts raise very serious questions. There appears to be a deliberate effort to hide the truth." Condemning the caste-based discrimination that persists even in the upper echelons of the civil services, Sisodia alleged that the tragedy exposes the deep-rooted prejudice and structural injustice that continue to suffocate Dalit officers and citizens alike.

"If a Dalit IPS officer can be harassed to death, and if a shoe is thrown at the Chief Justice of India because of his caste, imagine the everyday reality of an ordinary Dalit citizen," Sisodia said.

"It is shameful that in the 21st century, when the world is advancing through Artificial Intelligence, India's ruling leadership is taking us backwards, back into the darkness of caste and hierarchy," said Sisodia.

He attacked the BJP-led government, accusing it of promoting a "toxic ideology of caste supremacy and shielding those responsible for atrocities against Dalits".

"This is not just a tragedy, it's a national alarm," he said.

"Those in power are encouraging this poisonous mindset and lack the courage to act against the perpetrators. They are pushing the country back into an age of social division and injustice," alleged Sisodia.

The AAP leader questioned the "silence and inaction" of central agencies and political authorities, urging an immediate and transparent investigation into the death of the Haryana IPS officer.

He demanded that those responsible for "harassment" be identified and held accountable.

"This family is waiting for justice, with faith in the system, in the law and in the conscience of the nation. But justice cannot be delivered if politics and caste continue to overshadow truth," Sisodia said. PTI CHS KSS KSS