Haryana IPS officer suicide | ‘Followed Ambedkar path’: Kin, friends seek justice

Puran was found dead with a gunshot wound at his Chandigarh residence on Tuesday. A batchmate who was at his house on Friday said, “I can’t believe he is gone. What has happened is unfortunate.”

When the news of Puran’s death broke, his wife, Amneet P Kumar, a 2001-batch IAS officer, was in Japan as part of an official delegation led by Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini. Currently posted as Commissioner and Secretary of Haryana’s Depart-ment of Foreign Cooperation, she reached Chandigarh Wednesday.

In an eight-page “suicide note”, Puran reportedly accused nine serving IPS officers of the Haryana Police, a retired IPS officer and three retired IAS officers of “caste-based discrimination”.

A batchmate claimed that Puran was often referred to as the “Dalit boy who could get on your nerves”. He added, “This (incident) was simply casteist and resulted in his death.”

A day before the officer’s death, the Rohtak Police had arrested a head constable who was accused of demanding a bribe from a local liquor businessman — allegedly at “Puran’s behest”.

Dismissing the corruption allegation, another batchmate told The Indian Express over phone, “I remember Puran as someone who always followed rules.”

While an FIR has been registered in connection with Puran’s death, his family and friends said that charges under Sections related to the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, and abetment to suicide are yet to be added to the complaint despite the recovery of the suicide note.

They also alleged that the officials accused by Puran in his note were not named in the FIR. His wife Amneet had alleged that Puran’s death was the result of “systematic persecution”.

Seeking justice, Puran’s family has refused to cremate his body or allow authorities to conduct a post-mortem till the accused are arrested.

His elder brother Y Vikram Kumar said: “Our mother is completely shattered. We hope the justice system understands our plight and brings those who abetted his suicide to justice.”

He added, “Our fight has the support of several of Puran’s batchmates and officers from across the country. Many of these people are camped at Puran’s house (in Chandigarh).”

Puran’s father, Y Vijay, a civil engineer in erstwhile Andhra Pradesh, passed away two years ago. His mother, Susheela, is a homemaker. The family hails from Secunderabad.

The second among three brothers, Vikram said Puran was “conscious” of his social position as a Dalit from a young age because their parents had taught them to follow the path laid down by Dr Ambedkar. “As children, we were told to not pay heed to any caste-based discrimination that we faced and to keep educating ourselves,” Vikram said.

On his brother’s academic achievements, Vikram said Puran got his bachelor’s degree in engineering from Hyderabad’s Osmania University.

“He used to study very hard. He was always surrounded by books. Later, he studied management at IIM-Ahmedabad,” said Vikram.
The management degree landed Puran a job at Satyam, the Hyderabad software giant, in 1996. “He worked there for four years, before clearing the civil services examination,” he said.

A batchmate said Puran met his wife, Amneet, during their training days. “We knew them as the power couple who cared deeply for the downtrodden. They were made for each other and were very happy together. ”

Amneet, who hails from Kot Fatta village in Punjab’s Bathinda, completed her MA in history from Panjab University in Chandigarh. She did her PhD in health economics from IIT-Madras. While her father, B S Rattan Kotfatta, retired as the joint commissioner of Income Tax, her brother Amit Rattan Kotfatta is an AAP MLA from the Bathinda (Rural) constituency. Arrested in February 2023 over bribery charges, he is currently out on bail.

Amit’s wife, Sanmeet Kaur, is a 2007-batch IPS officer from the Nagaland cadre. She is currently posted as an Inspector General for the National Commission for Scheduled Castes in Nagaland.

Speaking to The Indian Express earlier, Amit said, “My sister wants to check his (Puran’s) mobile phones to see whon he made the last call. She believes that someone may have provoked or pressured him at that time, which triggered the incident.”

Amneet’s father said they have requested the police to return his two mobile phones.

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