Chandigarh, October 11: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday met the family members of Haryana IPS officer Y Puran Kumar, who allegedly died by suicide earlier this week. After the meeting, Mann expressed solidarity with the grieving family and demanded a fair and transparent investigation into the officer’s death.
Speaking to ANI, Mann said, “The family is demanding justice. I request the Chief Minister of Haryana and the Central Government to stand with this family. You cannot disregard the law to protect one person — no one is above the law. Justice should be done.”
Mann added that he has also met the Governor, who is the Administrator of Chandigarh, and requested him to intervene in the case. “He should sit with the officers and the family together and talk. I will also speak to the Haryana Chief Minister. It is now clear that a community is being deliberately targeted as part of a conspiracy,” Mann said.
He further pointed out that the late officer and others from his community “did not come through any recommendations” but cleared the UPSC exams on merit. “The central and state governments, both run by the BJP, must meet the family soon, respect their sentiments, and ensure justice,” the Punjab CM added.
According to reports, IPS officer Y Puran Kumar allegedly shot himself with his service revolver at his residence in Chandigarh on Tuesday. In an eight-page “suicide note,” he reportedly named nine serving IPS officers, a retired IPS officer and three retired IAS officers, accusing them of caste-based discrimination.
Following the incident, an FIR was registered, but the family has alleged that police have not yet included sections under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, or abetment to suicide, despite the recovery of the signed note.
