Haryana IPS suicide: Sonia Gandhi slams systemic bias in power

Congress leader Sonia Gandhi has written to Amneet P. Kumar, wife of senior IPS officer Y. Puran Kumar, calling for full transparency and justice following his tragic passing.

She underlined that his suicide illustrates a fundamental failure in institutions, where bias and prejudice from those in power can deprive even the most senior officers of fair treatment and dignity.

In her letter, Gandhi expressed deep sorrow: “The news of the tragic death of your husband and senior IPS officer, Mr Y. Puran Kumar, is both shocking and deeply saddening. My heartfelt condolences to you and your entire family in this time of immense difficulty.”

She added: “The passing of Mr Y. Puran Kumar is a reminder to us that even today, the prejudiced and biased attitude of those in power deprives even the most senior officials of social justice. I and millions of people of the country stand with you on this path to justice.”

Puran Kumar, a 2001‑batch IPS officer aged 52, was serving as Inspector General at the Police Training Centre, Sunaria‑Rohtak, at the time of his death. He left behind an extensive eight‑page 'final note', in which he named multiple senior IAS and IPS officers and made serious allegations.

In that note, he stated how he was subjected to “continued blatant caste‑based discrimination, targeted mental harassment, public humiliation and atrocities by concerned senior officers of Haryana since August 2020 which is now unbearable.”

He detailed instances such as being denied leave which prevented him from seeing his father before he passed away, being assigned to 'non‑existent posts', and seeing his applications for earned leave, official vehicle allocation, and accommodation repeatedly ignored.

He alleged that all his representations and complaints were 'ignored' and used vindictively and in a 'revengeful… and mala fide manner'.

In his note he wrote: “Continued discrimination by not giving me my arrears, posting on non‑existent posts, not finalising the representation, including performance appraisal reviews‑related representations, humiliating, harassing and insulting me in public view, deliberate and continued attempts to initiate false, vexatious and malicious proceedings against me… that too based on anonymous/ pseudonymous complaints…. have compelled me to take this extreme step as I cannot bear this any longer.”

After his death, Chandigarh Police constituted a six‑member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to examine the circumstances surrounding the allegations.

Meanwhile, Amneet P. Kumar has raised concerns about what she describes as incomplete information filed in the FIR, and withheld consent for a post‑mortem until satisfactory answers are provided.

The case has drawn political attention and public concern, particularly around issues of caste discrimination within services, bureaucratic accountability, and mental health pressures in public life.

With PTI inputs