Police retract chargesheet; ASI Sushil secures bail

In a significant development in the corruption case linked to the late IPS officer Y Puran Kumar, a Rohtak court on Saturday granted bail to ASI Sushil Kumar after Haryana Police withdrew the chargesheet that had earlier been filed electronically.

Sushil Kumar, who was arrested on October 7 for allegedly demanding a bribe from a liquor contractor, was considered a close aide of IPS officer Y Puran Kumar, who died by suicide the same day. In her complaint to Chandigarh Police, the officer's wife, IAS Amneet P Kumar, had alleged that a fabricated case was being built against her husband at the highest levels of the Haryana Police.

“My husband had reasonably learnt and intimated it to me that a conspiracy is being hatched on the directions of DGP Haryana Shatujeet Singh Kapur, and he would be falsely implicated in a frivolous and mischievous complaint by fabricating false evidence,” she had stated.

She further said, “Subsequently, most cruelly, just before his death on the directions of DGP Haryana Shatrujeet Singh Kapur, a false FIR No. 319/2025… was registered… against staff member of my husband Sushil and under the well-planned conspiracy, my husband was being implicated… which pushed him for his final anguish.”

DSP Rohtak City Gulab Singh confirmed the retraction, telling ‘The Tribune’: “Earlier, the chargesheet was filed electronically. As the Deputy District Attorney raised objections on the chargesheet, we have retracted it and are correcting it.”

Under Section 193(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), the police must file the chargesheet — electronically or otherwise — once investigation is completed.

Sushil Kumar’s counsel, Joginder Singh Chandela, said the court granted default bail because “60 days have been completed in the case” and no valid chargesheet was before the court. Section 187(3) of BNSS bars magistrates from authorising custody beyond 60 days for offences with punishment below 10 years.

The withdrawn chargesheet had invoked Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, Section 238(c) of BNS (disappearance of evidence), and Section 308(3) of BNS (extortion).

Liquor contractor Praveen Bansal had on October 6 approached the Urban Estate Police Station alleging ASI Sushil Kumar demanded a monthly bribe of Rs 2.5 lakh and threatened to implicate him in liquor smuggling cases if he refused. Bansal submitted CCTV footage and audio recordings of Sushil Kumar’s alleged visits to his office, including one on July 9.

The police investigation found that the voice in the audio matched that of Sushil Kumar, according to the forensic report.

Investigators also found that Sushil Kumar used five mobile phones between April 1 and October 6 and had been staying in Room No. 1 of the Rohtak Circuit House while working with IG Rohtak Range.

However, scrutiny of service records raised more questions. His service book mentioned that he was deputed with IG Y Puran Kumar on September 14, 2021, but the SP Ambala office reported no such posting. The SP Mahendragarh office said he had been sent on temporary duty, though no written orders were ever issued. The IG Rohtak Range office also stated that there was no record of his posting “in any capacity.”