The Chandigarh Police have filed an FIR based on a ‘final note’ left behind by Haryana IPS officer Y Puran Kumar, who was found dead at his residence in the Union Territory on 7 October. The FIR was filed late on Thursday night, hours after the late officer’s wife Amneet Puran Kumar, sought Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini’s intervention in filing an FIR and suspension of those named by her husband in the ‘final note.’

Amneet Puran Kumar is an IAS officer and is currently posted as Commissioner and Secretary of the Haryana government’s Department of Foreign Cooperation.

Around 1.30 pm on Tuesday, Y Puran Kumar’s daughter found him dead in the basement of their Chandigarh home. The 2001-batch officer apparently used his service revolver to die by suicide in the basement. Amneet Puran Kumar was in Japan as part of a delegation led by Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Saini when the incident took place.

In her police complaint on Wednesday, Amneet had demanded an FIR against Haryana Director General of Police (DGP) Shatrujeet Singh Kapur and Rohtak Superintendent of Police (SP) Narendra Bijarniya. News agency ANI said that the two have been named in the FIR. LiveMint couldn’t verify it, however,

The FIR, filed at Police Station Sector 11 has been lodged under Sections 108 and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and Section 3(1)(r) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, cites abetment to suicide and caste-based harassment, Chandigarh police said in a statement adding that ‘further’ investigation was on in the case.

Will Home Ministry intervene?

The final note, being construed as a suicide note/dying declaration, has named nine serving IPS officers, one retired IPS officer and three retired IAS officers speaking about their alleged role in mental and administrative torture.

What did the complaint say?

According to the complaint, Puran Kumar, an IPS officer of the 2001 batch of the Haryana cadre, faced “systematic humiliation, harassment, and caste-based discrimination” by senior officers, including DGP Kapur. Amneet Puran Kumar alleged that prolonged administrative persecution ultimately drove her husband to take the extreme step.

The complaint further mentions that an FIR was registered against one of Puran Kumar’s staff members in Rohtak on 6 October, a day before his death, under the alleged direction of the DGP. The complaint termed it a “planned conspiracy” to falsely implicate her husband. The FIR also refers to an eight-page suicide note recovered from the officer’s residence, in which he detailed the alleged harassment and named several officers.

In her statement, Kumar said that her husband had repeatedly informed her of being targeted and discriminated against on the basis of caste, and that his multiple written complaints to the authorities had been ignored. She claimed that despite approaching senior officials, including the DGP, no relief was provided.

Kumar, in her plea, urged immediate arrest of the accused officers, alleging that, given their influence, they could tamper with evidence or influence witnesses. “Justice should not merely be done, but seen to be done, even for families like ours, shattered by the cruelty of the powerful,” she wrote.

Police have taken cognisance of the matter and registered the case for investigation under the relevant provisions. Inspector Jaiveer Singh Rana of Chandigarh Police has been assigned to investigate the case.

What did the Congress say?

The Congress blamed the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s ‘Manuwadi system’ for the death of the Dalit IPS officer, Y Puran Kumar and said the case is a horrific testament to social injustice, inhumanity and insensitivity. The Congress party also accused the BJP of nurturing and encouraging a hostile atmosphere towards Dalits and weaker sections.

In an X post, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge claimed that the unjust system fostered by the BJP and RSS has repeatedly crushed the self-respect of Dalits, Adivasis, backward classes and minorities, which is fatal for the Constitution and democracy.

“The BJP’s ‘Manuwadi’ system has become a curse for the SC, ST, OBC and weaker sections of this country. The news of the forced suicide of Haryana’s senior Dalit IPS officer, ADGP Y Puran Kumar, is not only shocking but also a horrific testament to social injustice, inhumanity, and insensitivity. My deepest condolences to the family,” Kharge posted.

Earlier Complaints

Y Puran Kumar was posted as Assistant Director General of Haryana Police at the time of his death. He had taken charge at this new post on September 29. Before this, he served as the ADG of Rohtak.

Kumar was unhappy with his postings and had, in 2023, written a letter to the Haryana chief secretary, complaining that he was given a post in the “non-cadre and non-existing” IGP homeguards. On 3 March 2023, Kumar was posted as the IGP, Home Guards by the Haryana state government.