Rahul Gandhi meets family of Haryana IPS officer Puran Kumar in Chandigarh

As the deadlock between the family of IPS officer Y Puran Kumar and the Haryana government entered its seventh day, Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini to end the “tamasha” and take action against the officers named in the suicide note.

Gandhi, accompanied by senior Congress leaders — former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Haryana Congress chief Rao Narender Singh, Rohtak MP Deepender Hooda, Sirsa MP Kumari Selja, and Ambala MP Varun Chaudhary — met Amneet P Kumar, a senior IAS officer and the wife of the late IPS officer, at their residence in Sector 24 here to offer condolences. The Congress leaders spent nearly an hour with the grieving family.

The family has so far refused to allow the post-mortem or cremation of the officer’s body, demanding the arrest of the officers named in his eight-page note. Kumar, a 2001-batch IPS officer, was found dead of a gunshot wound at his Chandigarh residence on October 7.

Speaking to the media, Rahul Gandhi said, “A tragedy has taken place with a government officer. The Haryana CM had committed to taking action and ensuring a free and fair inquiry. That commitment, given to the family three days ago, has not been fulfilled.”

He pointed out that Kumar’s two daughters have been waiting for justice, and described the case as a long-standing pattern of caste-based discrimination.

“This is not just about one family. For years, he (Puran Kumar) was systematically harassed — to demoralise him, to damage his career, to destroy his reputation. This sends a wrong message to crores of Dalit brothers and sisters across the country — that no matter how capable or intelligent you are, if you are a Dalit, you can be suppressed, crushed, and thrown out. This is not acceptable to us,” said the Congress leader.

Gandhi called on the Prime Minister and Chief Minister to honour their commitments to the family and allow a dignified closure:

“My message as Leader of the Opposition to the Prime Minister and the Haryana CM is: fulfil the commitment made to the daughters. Allow their father’s funeral. Stop this ‘tamasha’. Take action. Arrest the officers named in the note. End the pressure on the family.”

He further said that Y Puran Kumar deserves respect in death. “The family is giving a simple message, and it is absolutely right — ‘You disrespected my husband. You tried to destroy his career. He took his own life. At least now, give us respect.’”

“This is not just about one family’s respect, but about the dignity of every Dalit brother and sister in the country,” added Gandhi.