Were it not for the tragic circumstances of his death, Y Puran Kumar would have been seen as an example of social mobility and of the upholding of the Indian Constitution’s promise of equality. He was a Scheduled Caste (SC) Indian Police Service officer of the Haryana cadre; his wife, Amneet P Kumar, is an SC IAS officer, and his brother-in-law is an MLA in Punjab. On the face of it, Kumar and his family had reached the upper echelons of government and politics. His suicide and the eight-page note he leaves behind, which alleges systemic discrimination, including by senior IPS officers, however, casts a shadow on that image. It also raises disturbing questions about entrenched biases that cramp and distort institutional spaces. These questions must be addressed, not evaded.
The allegations of “mental and administrative torture” and “caste-based discrimination, public humiliation, targeted mental harassment and atrocities” by senior officers in Haryana in Kumar’s dying declaration must be probed. The National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) has directed the Chief Secretary and Director General of Police, Chandigarh, to submit an action taken report in seven days. The state government and police must investigate Kumar’s suicide urgently, in a transparent manner. The temptation to close ranks in the face of public and judicial scrutiny must be avoided. Issues of embedded prejudice and discrimination and their effect on the mental health of those at the receiving end are too important to be brushed under the carpet. This must be a moment for reflection and introspection for the police.
