Telangana dy CM demands action over Haryana IPS officer's 'suicide'

Chandigarh, Oct 13 (PTI) Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka on Monday termed the alleged suicide of a senior Haryana IPS officer "alarming". He said the state government must immediately act on the officer's "dying declaration" and take action against those responsible to ensure justice.

Vikramarka said he came to Chandigarh to console the family members of the officer, Y Puran Kumar, who hailed from Telangana. Kumar allegedly shot himself dead at his residence here on October 7. He left behind a "final note" in which he accused eight senior officers, including Haryana DGP Shatrujeet Kapur and former Rohtak SP Narendra Bijarniya, of harassment.

"A decorated officer committing suicide is something very alarming and a caution to the entire country as to what is happening. Y Puran Kumar, in his dying declaration (final note), particularly mentioned two officers, Haryana DGP Shatrujeet Kapur and former Rohtak SP Narendra (Bijarniya), stating that they have humiliated him, insulted him, and they are the root cause for his suicide," Vikramarka said.

He demanded that the government immediately act upon his "dying declaration" and take action against the officers responsible so that justice is delivered.

The 52-year-old 2001-batch IPS officer also gave accounts of the alleged harassment, including caste-based discrimination, by some other officers in the note.

Birjaniya was transferred as the Rohtak SP on Saturday. After the registration of the FIR, Chandigarh police had constituted a six-member Special Investigation Team for "prompt, impartial and thorough investigation" into the case.

"As per the law of the land, generally, the suicide note or dying declaration is taken into serious consideration, and the government acts immediately on it. Unfortunately, even after so many days, the government is not acting as per the law. The body of the deceased officer is lying like that without a postmortem, the deputy CM said.

"His family is not able to see the body. It is so pathetic and inhumane. I seriously demand from the Haryana government and police of UT Chandigarh to take action immediately against these two officers who are seriously responsible for this suicide," Vikramarka told reporters here after meeting Kumar's family.

The deputy CM said Kumar was a decorated IPS officer who had many achievements and tried to live with pride.

"But imagine... such an officer decided that 'I am sorry, I cannot live on, I have to die'. Can you imagine his plight? The government should understand this and stand for the family.

"At least, the government must act on his last dying declaration. I know for the last seven days, the family has been demanding action against the two officers who are responsible for the suicide, but there is no response," he said.

Vikramarka said it is the basic responsibility of any chief minister to protect the Constitution and the law.

He said Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy had called and spoken to Kumar's family. "An officer coming from Hyderabad who was so highly educated, he committed suicide, it is so unfortunate," he said.

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. PTI SUN RHL