Haryana IGP shoots himself dead with service revolver

Senior Haryana police officer Y Puran Kumar allegedly died by suicide using his service revolver at his Sector 11 residence here on Tuesday afternoon.

A 2001-batch IPS officer, Kumar was recently appointed as the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Police Training Centre, Sunaria, Rohtak. Sources said he allegedly died by suicide in the soundproof basement of his house. His body was found in a pool of blood by his daughter, who informed the police. The police received the information around 1.30 pm.

Two teams of the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) carried out an investigation

and recovered the weapon. After nearly four hours of investigation, his body was shifted from the crime spot to Government Multi-Speciality Hospital, Sector 16.

His wife, Anmeet P Kumar, a 2001-batch IAS officer posted as Commissioner and Secretary, Foreign Cooperation Department, was in Japan at the time of the incident. She is part of an official delegation, led by Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini.

Meanwhile, after a nearly three-hour struggle, the police recovered the bullet shell that had pierced Kumar’s head. They spotted the shell stuck in multi-layer plywood and had to call a worker to cut open the plywood and recover it.

Chandigarh SSP Kanwardeep Kaur said, “Injury marks have been spotted on the head. The police have taken custody of Kumar’s mobile phones and other documents.” A “will” and a “final note” were found at the spot, the police said. IGP Kumar had taken on the Haryana Police establishment several times in the past.

On September 7, 2024, he had filed a complaint to then Chief Secretary TVSN Prasad over screening committee meetings for promotions of six IPS officers despite the model code of conduct being in force. These officers belonged to the 1992 and 1998 batches and were senior to Kumar.

Posted as the IG (Telecommunications), Kumar had also raised the issue of holding a screening committee meeting for granting the selection grade to five 2011-batch IPS officers.

Following his complaint, several screening committee meetings were postponed. On April 14, 2024, he had sent a complaint to the Chief Secretary saying that he had not been allotted the car as per his entitlement. In June 2024, following his complaint about police officers retaining accommodation at a station despite being transferred out of their districts, an HPS officer was penalised.

On March 3, 2023, he was transferred as the IG (Home Guards). He complained to the government that it was not a cadre post. Finally, after nine months, he was given a cadre post. In 2023, he filed five complaints against an IAS officer and even approached the National Commission for Scheduled Castes for the registration of an FIR. In his complaints, Kumar had alleged caste bias too.

In 2021, he had approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court against then DGP Manoj Yadava, alleging discrimination. On April 21 this year, he was transferred from the post of IGP, Haryana Police Academy, Madhuban, to the post of IGP, Rohtak Range, considered a mainstream posting. He had been waiting for such a posting for a considerable time. However, just after five months on September 29, he was transferred as the IG, Police Training College, Sunaria, Rohtak.