IPS officer’s family firm on not allowing post-mortem

Four days after senior IPS officer Y Puran Kumar’s death by suicide, the family continues to refuse to conduct the post-mortem or perform the last rites of the deceased officer until their demands are met. They insisted that both Haryana DGP Shatrujeet Kapur and Rohtak SP Narender Bijarnia must be sent on leave, as reportedly assured by Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini during his visit to the bereaved family.

According to family members, the Chief Minister had promised on Thursday that a decision regarding the two officers would be taken by 5 pm, but “nothing has happened since.”

“The arrests can come later, but the bare minimum — sending the two officers on leave — should be done immediately,” said a family member. “The government knows exactly what needs to be done to support us in this tragedy.”

The Chandigarh Police today constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) under the supervision of Inspector General of Police (IGP) Pushpendra Kumar to probe the FIR registered in the suicide case of senior IPS officer Y Puran Kumar. This is the first time in a long time that an SIT has been formed under an IGP to investigate a case involving an IPS officer’s death in the city, as it involves IPS and IAS-level officers on both sides (as complainants and accused).

The move came amid mounting pressure from the officer’s family and representatives of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities, who demanded a fair and time-bound probe into what they described as an “institutional killing.”

According to official orders issued by DGP Sagar Preet Hooda, the SIT will investigate FIR No. 156/2025, registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act at the Sector 11 (West) police station.

Led by IGP Pushpendra Kumar, the team includes SSP (UT) Kanwardeep Kaur, SP (City) K M Priyanka, DSP (Traffic) Charanjit Singh Virk, SDPO (South) Gurjit Kaur and SHO of Sector 11 police station Jaiveer Singh Rana. The SIT has been tasked with conducting a prompt, impartial and thorough investigation, covering all aspects, including evidence collection, witness examination, expert consultation and legal scrutiny.

DGP Hooda met a delegation of the SC/ST representatives at the UT Police Headquarters earlier in the day, where he assured them of an unbiased and professional probe.

After the SIT was constituted in the afternoon, SSP Kanwardeep Kaur and SP (City) KM Priyanka visited deceased officer’s wife Amneet P Kumar’s house, possibly to assure her of a fair investigation and recording initial statements by the family.

OFFICER’S FAMILY SEEKS AMENDMENT TO FIR

Even as the SIT began its work, the late officer’s wife, Amneet P Kumar, an IAS officer, raised serious objections to the contents of the FIR lodged late Thursday night. In a letter addressed to SSP Kanwardeep Kaur, she alleged that the copy of the FIR provided to her was incomplete, unsigned, and didn’t name the key accused — Haryana DGP Shatrujeet Kapur and Rohtak SP Narender Bijarnia — who, she said, were central to her complaint and “the trigger point” behind her husband’s death.

Amneet wrote that as per procedure, all accused must be clearly listed under Column No. 7 of the FIR format, and urged that the document be amended “to accurately reflect the names of all accused individuals.” She further alleged that the sections of the SC/ST Act applied were diluted and sought the inclusion of Section 3(2)(v), which deals with severe offences under the Act.

The IAS officer also claimed she had not been provided with certified copies of the ‘Final Note’ dated October 7 recovered from her husband’s pocket and digital archive. Without these documents, she said, she could not verify the version referenced in the FIR.

“The FIR was filed nearly 24 hours after the incident,” Amneet’s letter stated, “and even now, it does not reflect the complete truth.”

Meanwhile, senior Haryana minister Krishan Lal Panwar visited the family on Friday to persuade them to allow cremation of the officer, but they remained firm. “We have conveyed to the government that until the officers are sent on leave and the FIR is corrected, we will not proceed,” the family reiterated.

SC/ST REPRESENTATIVES MEET DGP

The SIT formation followed a meeting between senior officials and representatives of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities led by D Suresh, Resident Commissioner at Haryana Bhavan, New Delhi.

Over 30 representatives gathered in the committee room at the Police Headquarters and held detailed discussions before forwarding their demands to the DGP. Later, D Suresh, a close associate of Y Puran Kumar, along with the deceased officer’s younger brother, met DGP Hooda and pressed for a swift and decisive action.

Speaking to The Tribune before the meeting, D Suresh said, “This is a social issue. We are here only to ensure justice for our colleague. There is no political motivation behind our visit.”

Meanwhile, Ambedkar Students’ Association (ASA) at Panjab University staged a protest at the Student Centre on the PU campus in solidarity with the late officer’s family. “We strongly condemn the institutional killing of IPS Y Puran Kumar and the casteist silence of the Haryana Government,” said Gautam Bhoria, from the Department of Education, PU.

CASE BACKGROUND

IPS officer Y Puran Kumar, a 2001-batch Haryana cadre officer, allegedly shot himself with his service revolver at his Sector 11 residence in Chandigarh earlier this week. In a note dated October 7, 2025, he had reportedly detailed prolonged caste-based harassment and professional humiliation by senior Haryana Police officers.

The case has sparked widespread outrage across bureaucratic and social circles, with civil rights groups demanding justice and accountability at the highest levels of the state administration.

PRESS CONFERENCE CANCELLED

While the family planned to address a press conference at their official residence in Sector 24 later in the day around 4 pm, Chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) Kishor Makwana also visited them and stayed inside the official resident for hours. While talking to media after the meeting, he said, “I came here to share the grief of the family as a chairman of NCSC and also to assure that the justice will be served.”

IPS officers association pledges support to family

The IPS Officers Association (Haryana Cadre) has expressed grief over the untimely demise of IPS officer Y Puran Kumar. In a condolence resolution, the association conveyed heartfelt sympathies to his family and prayed for peace to the departed soul. A delegation, led by ADGP Hardeep Singh Doon, visited the residence of deceased officer’s wife Amneet P Kumar, an IAS officer, to offer condolences on behalf of the Haryana Police. The members pledged full support to the bereaved family.

SC/ST communities form 31-member committee

After the Chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC), Kishor Makwana, left the deceased officer’s residence in Sector 24, the representatives of the SC/ST communities said a 31-member committee had been formed, which included former AAP minister Sandeep Kumar Valmiki and former Chandigarh Mayor Rajesh Kumar Kalia. It will ensure that the family’s demands and concerns are formally represented before the authorities. This delegation from the Dalit community will meet on Saturday at 10:30 am to discuss on further course of action.