In the midst of the Bihar poll campaign and ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s likely visit to Haryana on October 17, the alleged suicide of IPS officer Y Puran Kumar has put the ruling BJP as well as the Nayab Singh Saini government on the defensive in the state.
What is seemingly making matters worse for the Saini government are relentless demands for “justice” and action against Haryana director general of police (DGP) Shatrujeet Singh Kapur and Rohtak superintendent of police (SP) Narendra Bijarniya by Kumar’s wife and IAS officer Amneet P Kumar.
Admitting that the suicide of Puran Kumar, who belonged to the Dalit community, could dent the BJP’s “moral image”, a senior Haryana party leader said, “The case is being seen as a test of the state government’s commitment to social justice, fairness and non-discrimination. The accusation that even a senior IPS officer allegedly faced caste discrimination may damage the government’s image.”
Another BJP leader echoed this view, saying the party could face political setbacks in Schedueld Castes (SCs)-reserved constituencies if the perception persists that the Saini government failed to protect Dalits, including high-ranking officers, in Haryana.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP lost both the SC-reserved seats — Ambala and Sirsa — in the state, but months later, it won eight of the 17 SC-reserved constituencies in the Assembly elections. Dalits make up around 22% of Haryana’s population.
Kumar was found dead at his Chandigarh residence with a gunshot wound on October 7. He left behind a “suicide note” in which he accused several officers, including the DGP and the Rohtak SP, of “caste-based discrimination”.
Since the Chandigarh Police filed an FIR on the basis of Kumar’s “suicide note” but did not name any of the officers mentioned, Amneet has been demanding their inclusion in the FIR’s column meant for naming the “known/ unknown/ suspected accused” and invocation of harsher provisions under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
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The Saini government’s move on Saturday to transfer the Rohtak SP was
dismissed by Kumar’s family as a “mere eyewash”. “The response is too little, too late. Transferring an SP-rank officer is no punishment,” a source close to the family told The Indian Express.
Kumar’s post-mortem also became a flashpoint between the family and the government, which came under fire Saturday for shifting his body from the Government Multi Speciality Hospital to the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh.
Even as Chandigarh DGP Sagar Preet Hooda said the family’s concerns were being discussed to obtain consent for the post-mortem, Amneet and her brother, AAP MLA from Bathinda Rural Amit Rattan, alleged that the police forcibly moved Kumar’s body without their consent.
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The issue has given ammunition to the Opposition leaders across parties, with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) chief Chandrashekhar Aazad, and even the BJP’s ally LJP(RV) chief Chirag Paswan expressing their support for Amneet.
The Congress has also threatened statewide protests if the government does not “deliver justice” to the bereaved family.
Compounding the BJP’s troubles, several Dalit leaders — including the Congress’s Sirsa MP Kumari Selja, ex-MP Ashok Tanwar, and the Congress’s Jalandhar MP and ex-Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi — have termed Kumar’s death a “murder”.
“Why were Kumar’s warnings repeatedly ignored? The government is in the dock and must answer. This is not an isolated incident. The same officers Kumar named were those he had been complaining about. Unfortunately, neither the system nor the government paid heed to his pain… Does the voice of a senior officer or even an ordinary citizen hold no value in this country? It is shameful that action was taken only after the family refused to perform the last rites,” Selja said.
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Recalling Kumar’s refusal to fire at protesting farmers during the 2020–2021 agitation against the now-repealed central farm laws and calling him a “martyr”, Channi said the officer always “stood for justice and the downtrodden”.
BJP’s damage control
The Saini government has struggled to contain the fallout of the incident. Though Saini cancelled Saturday’s scheduled Cabinet meeting, he has sent a team of his ministers and senior bureaucrats to Amneet’s residence in Chandigarh to pacify her and assure the family that the government will deliver justice.
Saini himself met Amneet Thursday, while several state ministers — including Anil Vij, Krishan Bedi and Krishan Lal Panwar — as well as top officials such as chief principal secretary Rajesh Khullar, chief secretary Anurag Rastogi and additional chief secretary (Home) Sumita Misra have been camping at her residence.