Rohtak SP transferred as Haryana CM Saini vows justice; IPS officer’s kin slam shifting of body

Amid outrage over the suicide of Haryana IPS officer Y Puran Kumar, Rohtak SP Narendra Bijarniya was transferred on Saturday as Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini assured the family of justice. The officer’s family has sought the arrest of Haryana DGP Shatrujeet Kapur and Bijarniya.

This came as a controversy erupted on Saturday morning over the shifting of the IPS officer’s body from a hospital in Sector 16 here to the PGIMER mortuary for post-mortem “without the family’s consent”.

Kumar, a 2001-batch IPS officer, had allegedly shot himself at his Sector 11 residence here on Tuesday afternoon, leaving behind an eight-page “final note” accusing senior IPS and IAS officers of caste-based harassment and humiliation.

According to an official order issued on Saturday, IPS officer Surinder Singh Bhoria was appointed as the new Rohtak SP. It said the posting order of Bijarniya would be issued separately. Apart from this, the Chandigarh Police also added Section 3(2) (V) of the SC/ST Act as its first step in the investigation headed by IGP Pushpendra Kumar after an SIT was formed on Friday. It was one of the demands in the complaint forwarded to the UT SSP on Friday morning by IPS officer's wife Amneet P Kumar regarding the amendments required in the FIR.

In his first public comment on the case, Saini promised justice to Kumar’s family. He said, “We will probe the matter and whosoever is found guilty, action will certainly be taken against him, no matter how big a person he may be.”

Addressing BJP workers in Panchkula, Saini said he had spoken to Amneet, an IAS officer, and was “in touch with the Centre for the resolution of the issue”. He also urged the opposition parties “not to politicise” the matter.

His remarks came as a stream of leaders and officials reached the late officer’s residence to offer condolences and express solidarity with the family. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann met Amneet, who is the sister of Punjab AAP MLA Amit Rattan Kotfatta. Mann described the officer’s death as “a tragedy that reflects society’s failure to ensure dignity and justice for the marginalised”.

Speaking to the media, Mann said, “It is ironic that a family which worked hard to educate its children and serve the nation is today pleading for justice. Even senior officials are not spared humiliation because they come from poor or Dalit backgrounds.”

Calling for strict action against those making casteist remarks, Mann criticised the police for not naming the accused in the FIR. He said, “Amneet told me she had been requesting this from the first day. Yet, no one has been named even now.”

Mann said he had met Chandigarh Administrator and Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria, urging him to take immediate cognisance of the case.

AAP leader Manish Sisodia and former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi also met the family. Congress leaders Randeep Singh Surjewala and Deepender Hooda described the incident as “a heart-wrenching reminder of caste bias within the system”.

Senior Haryana ministers, including Anil Vij, Krishan Lal Panwar and Krishan Kumar Bedi, also visited the family.

Earlier on Saturday morning, emotional scenes unfolded as controversy erupted over the handling of the officer’s body. Amneet accused the Chandigarh Police of acting in haste and without the family's consent while shifting the body from Government Multi-Specialty Hospital, Sector 16, here to the PGIMER mortuary for post-mortem. “My children wanted to pay their last respects, but the body was taken away without informing us,” she said, adding that as a Dalit widow, she felt “stripped of dignity and denied a voice”.

Amit Rattan called it “injustice to a DGP-level officer’s family,” while members of a Dalit organisation, Valmiki Army, vowed not to allow post-mortem or cremation until the officers named in the “final note” were arrested. Concerns were also raised about possible tampering with evidence during the body’s transfer.

Responding to the outcry, Chandigarh DGP Sagar Preet Hooda acknowledged a “communication gap” and assured that no post-mortem would be conducted without the family’s written consent. A medical board has been constituted for the procedure, which will be videographed once the approval is granted.

(With inputs from Geetanjali Gayatri)