Gurugram: Putting an end to the eight day-long stalemate over the post-mortem of senior Haryana IPS officer Y. Puran Kumar, who allegedly died by suicide, his wife, IAS officer Amneet P. Kumar, has finally given her consent for the process.
Kumar’s family arrived at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, Wednesday morning to complete all necessary procedures. A source at PGIMER told The Print that a medical board will conduct the post-mortem Wednesday. The funeral is likely to take place in the evening, ThePrint has learnt.
Chandigarh Senior Superintendent of Police Kanwardeep Kaur had visited the family Wednesday morning, after which Amneet Kumar released a statement, saying that Chandigarh Police had assured her of a fair and impartial investigation.
The Haryana government, too, has promised that any official found guilty would face legal action, she added.
“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 the 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. I have full faith in the Judiciary and the Police authorities, and I sincerely hope that the investigation will be conducted in a professional, impartial, and time-bound manner, so that the truth emerges in accordance with law,” her press note read.
“My full cooperation shall continue to be extended to the investigating team so that the process is expedited and justice is served at the earliest. In view of the ongoing investigation, no further public statement shall be issued at this stage, and I request the media to respect the sensitivity of the matter.”
On Tuesday, Chandigarh Police had filed a petition before the Chief Judicial Magistrate’s Court in Chandigarh, seeking permission to conduct the post-mortem and identification of the body. The court had issued a notice to the family, directing them to submit a response by Wednesday.
Prof. Jayanarayan, chairman of a 51-member committee set up by Dalit organisations to secure justice for the family, said that Haryana government fulfilled their key demand by sending accused Director General of Police Shatrujeet Kapur on leave, while Rohtak Superintendent of Police Narendra Bijarniya has already been removed from his post.
“The government has done its part,” he said. “Now, the committee demands that the Chandigarh Police conduct an impartial investigation.” The committee plans to submit a memorandum to UT Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria Wednesday, seeking legal steps for a fair probe, he added.
Inspector General Y. Puran Kumar, posted at Police Training College (PTC), Sunaria in Rohtak, allegedly shot himself dead on 7 October at his residence in Sector 11, Chandigarh. An eight-page ‘suicide note’ and a one-page will were recovered from the spot.
The note accused DGP Kapur, Rohtak SP Bijarniya of driving him to suicide by trying to frame him in a false case of corruption, and 13 other current and former officers of harassment and caste-based discrimination.
It was found that Rohtak Police had arrested his gunman, Sushil Kumar, for allegedly demanding a bribe from a liquor trader. SP Bijarniya claimed that Sushil had confessed to having done so on the instructions of IG Puran Kumar.
At the time of the ‘suicide’, the officer’s wife Amneet Kumar, was with Chief Minister Nayab Saini and other officers on an official tour in Japan. Upon her return to India on 8 October, she filed a police complaint at Sector 11 Police Station in Chandigarh, accusing DGP Kapur and SP Bijarniya of abetting her husband’s suicide, and caste-based discrimination and harassment. She alleged that, acting on the DGP’s directions, the Rohtak SP had fabricated a false case to frame her husband, calling it a deliberate conspiracy.
The Chandigarh Police has since registered an FIR and constituted a Special Investigation Team.
Amneet Kumar had, however, been refusing to give her consent for the post-mortem of her husband’s body until Kapur and Bijarniya were arrested. A series of meetings by several Haryana Ministers and officials had failed to cut ice.
The Haryana government, who had already shifted Rohtak SP, sent DGP Kapur on leave Tuesday, giving additional charge of the DGP to O.P. Singh, a 1992-batch IPS officer.
Amid the stalemate, a number of political leaders, including Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, and Union Ministers Chirag Paswan and Ramdas Athawale, visited the family, while Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi wrote to Amneet.
The stalemate also saw protests by Dalit bodies across the state, forcing the Haryana government to issue a high-level alert. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally in Sonipat, scheduled for 17 October to mark the first anniversary of the BJP’s third term in power, was cancelled without specifying any reasons amid the protests.
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)
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