Rahul Gandhi to visit family of late IPS officer Y. Puran Kumar in Chandigarh today

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi is set to visit Chandigarh on Tuesday evening, 14 October, to meet the family of IPS officer Y. Puran Kumar, who died by suicide on 7 October under distressing circumstances that have since sparked widespread outrage and political reaction.

The Congress confirmed Rahul Gandhi’s visit on Monday, stating that he will arrive in Chandigarh around 5:30 pm to offer condolences and express solidarity with the bereaved family.

Y. Puran Kumar, a 2010-batch IPS officer of the Haryana cadre, was found dead at his official residence in Sector 11, Chandigarh. Initial reports indicate that the officer allegedly shot himself using his service revolver. However, the tragedy took a deeply troubling turn after investigators reportedly recovered a suicide note from the scene naming 14 officials, including senior police officers, whom Kumar accused of sustained mental harassment and caste-based discrimination.

Two days later, on 9 October, the Chandigarh Police registered a First Information Report (FIR) against all 14 individuals named in the note. Those accused include Haryana’s director general of police (DGP) Shatrujit Kapoor and Rohtak superintendent of police (SP) Narendra Bijarnia. The FIR invokes charges under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code (abetment to suicide) and Sections 3(1)(r) and 3(5) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

Despite the FIR, Kumar’s family has publicly voiced their dissatisfaction with the investigation, expressing a profound lack of trust in both the Chandigarh Police and the Haryana government. They have so far refused to consent to a postmortem examination of the officer’s body, which has remained in the mortuary since 7 October. The family insists that only an impartial probe — possibly under the supervision of a central agency — can bring out the truth behind the officer’s death.

Amneet P. Kumar, the late officer’s wife and a senior IAS officer, has been meeting select political leaders but reportedly refused to engage with representatives of the Haryana government, rejecting what she perceived as attempts at political appeasement.

The Congress has sharply criticised the BJP-led Haryana government, accusing it of fostering an environment of discrimination and administrative insensitivity. “This tragedy reflects a complete collapse of accountability within the system,” a party spokesperson said, adding that the alleged caste-based harassment of a senior Dalit officer raises serious questions about the state’s governance and institutional integrity.

Rahul Gandhi’s visit comes amid growing calls for justice from civil rights organisations and IPS associations, which have urged a transparent investigation into the allegations of caste bias and professional persecution that may have driven the officer to take his own life.

Meanwhile, political tension continues to escalate in Haryana, with Opposition parties demanding that the Centre intervene to ensure a fair probe and that those responsible for the alleged harassment face strict legal consequences.

As the state grapples with public anger and grief, the death of IPS officer Y. Puran Kumar has become emblematic of deeper concerns within India’s policing and administrative structures — about accountability, equality, and the cost of silence in the face of institutional injustice.

With IANS inputs