Haryana Police Suicide: IPS Officer’s Body Cremated, ASI’s Body in Morgue as Family Refused Consent
Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Oct 15: While the impasse over post-mortem and cremation of one body was completed on Wednesday in the Haryana police suicide imbroglio, the last rites of another body remained pending for the same set of reasons for which the body of the Indian Police Service (IPS) officer was kept in the morgue for over eight days.
The Haryana IPS officer Y Puran Kumar’s body was cremated this afternoon, eight days after he shot himself dead. The post-mortem and the cremation were delayed after the IPS officer’s family refused consent for the autopsy unless an FIR was registered against the top police officers whom Y Puran Kumar had accused of harassment.
The consent eventually came through, and the senior police officer’s body was cremated after conducting the post-mortem. But the body of Sandeep Kumar, an Assistant Sub-Inspector in Rohtak’s cyber cell, who also committed suicide on Tuesday is lying in the morgue because his family has refused consent for post-mortem till actions were taken against those named in his suicide note for ending his life. Sandeep Kumar had shot himself with his service revolver and his body was found in a field in Rohtak.
In his suicide note and a video message, he accused Y Puran Kumar of being a corrupt officer and alleged that he died by suicide because he feared an expose of his corrupt activities. Sandeep Kumar also made serious allegations against Y Puran Kumar’s wife and IAS officer Amneet P Kumar. His family has now demanded that an FIR be registered based on Sandeep Kumar’s suicide note and said they would not consent to the post-mortem unless a case is filed.
Sandeep Kumar’s brother, Bhoop Singh said, “More than 24 hours have passed (after his death), but no FIR has been filed. We will allow the post-mortem to take place once an FIR is lodged,” he said. Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini visited Sandeep Kumar’s family on Wednesday. His relatives have told media that the Chief Minister had assured them of a thorough probe.
“The Chief Minister visited our home. Four hours have passed, and we are still waiting for government officials to respond. We will continue with our demands unless concrete action is taken against those named by my brother in the suicide note,” Bhoop Singh said.
In the video message recorded before his death, Sandeep Kumar said after YS Puran Kumar was posted in the Rohtak range, he started replacing honest police officers with corrupt officers. “These people blocked files, called petitioners and mentally tortured them by asking for money. Women police personnel were sexually exploited in exchange for transfers,” he alleged.
“Roots of his corruption run very deep. He has committed suicide fearing the complaint against him,” he alleged. “Their assets must be probed. This is not a caste issue. Truth must come out. He was corrupt,” he alleged. Sandeep Kumar also praised Rohtak’s former Superintendent of Police Narendra Bijarniya, who has now been transferred.
Bijarniya is among the top officers named in Y Puran Kumar’s suicide note. Y Puran Kumar has accused 10 senior and retired police officers of “blatant caste-based discrimination, targeted mental harassment, public humiliation and atrocities.”
Police sources have said Sandeep Kumar played a role in the arrest of head constable Sushil Kumar, said to be Y Puran Kumar’s aide. A liquor contractor had alleged that Sushil Kumar sought a bribe of Rs 2.5 lakh in the name of Y Puran Kumar. Rohtak’s new Superintendent of Police SS Bhoria said, “ASI Sandeep was a very hardworking and honest person in our department.” The Chandigarh police, however, has said Sandeep Kumar was still not in its radar for questioning in connection with Puran Kumar’s suicide.
The family of finally agreed to the autopsy a day after a Chandigarh court issued a notice to Anmeet P Kumar to identify the body. The court sought a reply, either personally or through counsel, by Wednesday failing which, the application will be decided on its merits.
Puran Kumar’s wife, an IAS officer, had earlier refused the autopsy, demanding the arrest of former Haryana DGP Shatrujeet Kapur and Rohtak SP Narendra Bijarniya, whose names appeared in her late husband’s suicide note. “In view of the assurance extended by the UT Police for conducting a fair, transparent, and impartial investigation, and the commitment conveyed by the Government of Haryana to take appropriate action against any erring officials in due course of law, I have consented to the conduct of the post-mortem examination of Y Puran Kumar, IPS.
“Considering the evidentiary importance of a timely post-mortem and in the larger interest of justice, I have agreed for the same to be carried out as per prescribed procedure, by the constituted Board of Doctors, with the presence of a ballistic expert, under the supervision of a Magistrate, and with videography of the entire process to ensure complete transparency,” Anmeet Kumar said in a statement.
The Chandigarh Police on 10 October had formed a six-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the alleged ‘suicide’ of Y Puran Kumar for “prompt, impartial and thorough investigation” in a time-bound manner.
The police had filed an FIR based on Puran Kumar’s “final note” hours after Amneet Kumar sough Mr Saini’s intervention in filing an FIR and suspension of those named by her husband in the ‘final note. In his ‘final note’, IPS Puran Kumar named 16 senior IPS and IAS officers, alleging harassment and holding them responsible for his decision to take the extreme step.
