Haryana IPS officer Puran Kumar cremated after autopsy, 9-day standoff ends

Nine days after Y Puran Kumar allegedly shot himself dead, the Haryana IPS officer’s cremation was performed here on Wednesday following his autopsy at the PGIMER amid tight security and under magisterial supervision.

The standoff between the family and the Haryana Government ended as the deceased’s wife and IAS officer, Amneet P Kumar, gave her consent to the autopsy early in the morning.

She agreed after receiving an assurance from the Chandigarh Police of a “fair probe” and a “commitment from the Haryana Government that action would be taken against erring officials”. “I have full faith in the judiciary and the police. I have given my consent to the post-mortem and am hopeful the investigation will be fair, transparent and time-bound,” she said in a statement.

Around 8.45 am, Amneet, accompanied by her brother Amit Rattan Kotfatta, who is an AAP MLA from Bathinda (Rural), and other family members arrived at the PGIMER’s Advanced Anatomy Centre for the autopsy. The area remained under heavy police cover since early morning, with IGP Pushpendra Kumar and SSP Kanwardeep Kaur personally supervising the situation. Sector 11 SHO Jaiveer Rana and SI Babita were also present. Barricades were placed around the building while riot control units were kept on standby.

The post-mortem began around 11 am after all legal formalities were completed in the presence of a Sub-Divisional Magistrate, medical board and ballistic and forensic experts. The procedure, conducted by a four-member board led by Dr Jasbir Singh, Associate Professor of the Department Forensic Medicine, continued for two and half hours and was videographed for transparency. Three samples of viscera, DNA swab and clothing were collected for forensic analysis.

In a statement, the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) said the autopsy was completed while following the due procedures, and that the report would be handed over to the Chandigarh Police’s special investigation team that was probing the case.

The body was handed over to the family around 2.30 pm and by 3 pm, it was brought to their Sector 24 residence. The officer’s last rites were performed at 4.30 pm at the Sector 25 cremation ground where the late officer’s wife, two daughters, family members and hundreds of others paid tributes.

A gun salute was given to the deceased IPS officer by a contingent of the Haryana Police. Among those present were Punjab Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan, former Union Minister Pawan Bansal, Haryana Chief Secretary Anurag Rastogi, DGP OP Singh, Chief Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Rajesh Khullar, ACS (Home) Sumita Misra, Director General of Home Guards and Civil Defence Mohammad Akil and ADGP (Vigilance & Anti-Corruption Bureau) Alok Mittal. Haryana ministers Krishan Lal Panwar and Shyam Singh Rana, and Congress MLAs Pooja Chaudhary, Nirmal Singh and Ashok Arora were also present.

Despite occasional sloganeering in favour of the officer and against the Haryana Government, the ceremony remained peaceful. The post-mortem marks a crucial step in the ongoing investigation into the alleged suicide by Puran Kumar (52), a 2001-batch officer, here on October 7, with the case drawing national attention.

In an eight-page “final note” purportedly left behind by Kumar, he accused several senior IPS officers of blatant caste-based discrimination, targeted mental harassment, public humiliation and atrocities.