Haryana IPS officer 'suicide': Punjab Congress demands justice for cop's family

Chandigarh, Oct 12 (PTI) The Punjab Congress on Sunday criticised the BJP government in Haryana following the alleged suicide of IPS officer Y Puran Kumar and demanded justice for his family.

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

Addressing the media here, Punjab Pradesh Congress Chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring stated that if an IPS officer like Puran Kumar is not safe, then no one else is secure either.

Warring announced that the Congress party will hold candlelight marches at district headquarters across Punjab on Monday to call for justice for Kumar's family.

Warring also accused the BJP government at the Centre of indulging in polarisation and dividing people based on religion and caste.

He claimed that since the BJP has "failed" on all fronts, it has resorted to winning elections through "polarisation or vote theft." Criticising the way the BJP government in Haryana has handled the case, former Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi pointed out that, typically in such cases, all names mentioned in a suicide note are included in the FIR. However, in Kumar's case, the names of the officials mentioned in the note have not been included in the FIR filed by the Chandigarh police, he added.

Channi noted that six days have passed since Kumar's death without any action taken against those named in his "final note." He alleged that Haryana BJP leaders have been visiting Kumar's residence daily, pressuring the family not to seek justice.

The Congress MP mentioned that Kumar's wife, Amneet P Kumar, who is from Punjab, serves as an IAS officer in Haryana. Despite her position, she is not receiving justice, he claimed, attributing this to her belonging to a Dalit family.

The former Punjab chief minister alleged that this was not an isolated case, as there was "systematic and organised victimisation" of the Dalits taking place under the BJP rule.

He also raised concerns regarding the Chief Justice of India, mentioning an incident where an attempt was made to hurl a shoe at him. He referred to a recent case in Raebareli, Uttar Pradesh, where a Dalit man was allegedly lynched after being mistaken for a thief.

Additionally, Channi highlighted several incidents in Punjab involving the vandalism of statues of Dr BR Ambedkar.

Demanding urgent action over the IPS officer's death, Channi said the Congress stands with the deceased's family. Later, Warring met Kumar's family at his residence here to express grief.

On Saturday, the Haryana government reassigned Rohtak Superintendent of Police Narendra Bijarniya, one of the officers whom Puran Kumar's wife accused of allegedly abetting his suicide.

In her complaint to the Chandigarh police on Wednesday, Amneet P Kumar sought an FIR against Haryana DGP Shatrujeet Kapur and Bijarniya under Section 108 of the BNS (abetment to suicide) and relevant provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, demanding their immediate arrest.

In the 'final note' purportedly left by Kumar, he named eight senior IPS officers, accusing Haryana DGP Kapur and the former Rohtak SP Bijarniya of harassing and maligning him.

In his eight-page 'final note', the deceased officer also detailed accounts of alleged harassment, including caste-based discrimination, by other officers.

On Saturday, Haryana ministers Krishan Lal Panwar, Krishan Kumar Bedi, Chief Secretary Anurag Rastogi, and Principal Secretary Rajesh Khullar, besides other senior officers of the Haryana government, met Kumar's family, seemingly an attempt to persuade them to agree to a postmortem examination and cremation of the deceased officer. PTI CHS MPL MPL