Chandigarh: Haryana chief minister Nayab Saini on Wednesday met the family members of assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Sandeep Lathar, who allegedly died by suicide Tuesday evening accusing late IPS officer Y Puran Kumar of corruption, and assured them of justice in the case.
Lathar 41, was found dead after he reportedly shot himself dead with his service revolver at Ladhot village of Haryana’s Rohtak district. He was a part of the police team which arrested IGP Puran Kumar’s aide Sushil, an exemptee ASI (EASI) on corruption charges on October 6.
In a suicide note and a video Lathar accused Kumar of corruption and that he (Kumar) had died by suicide on October 7 because of fear of his arrest for the same. Lathar also accused him of ``hijacking the system by exploiting casteism’’, the note reportedly further said. He also reportedly demanded an investigation by sacrificing his life stating that corrupt family of Kumar should not be spared.
The 2001-batch IPS officer, Kumar, 52, who was posted as IGP, police training centre, Rohtak on September 25 last, had shot himself dead at his residence in Chandigarh, on October 7. He accused nine senior serving IPS officers, including the DGP Kapur, SP Bijarniya, a retired IPS officer and three retired IAS officers, of ``caste-based discrimination, public humiliation, targeted mental harassment and atrocities’’ for the suicide. Kumar belonged to the SC community.
While Bijarniya was removed from Rohtak, DGP Kapur was sent on leave and was replaced by 1992 batch IPS officer O P Singh, who has been given the additional charge of the DGP, Haryana.
Saini, who was accompanied by state minister Mahipal Dhanda, Krishan Lal Panwar and senior BJP leader Manish Grover visited Lathar’s bereaved family and expressed condolences. He also assured the family members of an appropriate action in the case.
Lathar’s family members threatened that the family would not allow post-mortem of his body until an FIR is registered against late IPS officer Kumar’s family.
Senior Congress leader and former two-time chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) leader Abhay Chautala also visited the family and condoled the death later in the day.
