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Cong MP, AAP MLA meet Kataria, seek judicial probe in IPS officer’s death
Ambala MP Varun Chaudhry, who was accompanied by Punjab MLA Amit Rattan, met UT administrator in Ludhiana and expressed shock at the alleged caste discrimination faced by Puran Kumar at the hands of senior Haryana cops.
Congress MP from Ambala, Varun Chaudhary on Friday said Haryana DGP, Shatrujeet Kapur and Rohtak SP Narendra Bijarniya should be immediately divested of the charge they are holding as “they can influence the course of the investigation being done by Chandigarh police in the suicide of IPS officer, Y Puran Kumar.”
“They are in a position where they can influence the probe. Hence, it is in the interest of fairness and transparency that the Nayab Saini government transfers them out,’’ the Congress MP said. Chaudhary who along with Punjab AAP MLA, Amit Rattan Kotfatta met UT administrator and Punjab governor, Gulab Chand Kataria told HT that the family of deceased IPS officer wants action against the two prime accused as mentioned in the “final note” left by the IGP. Amit Rattan is the brother of Puran Kumar’s IAS wife, Amneet P Kumar.
“It is clearly mentioned in the suicide note that the IPS officer took the extreme step due to the harassment by these two officers. Therefore, the prime accused in this case are DGP Haryana and SP Rohtak,” alleged Chaudhary, a Dalit leader.
The MP said thus it is imperative that the investigation should be supervised and monitored by a sitting high court judge as the officers included in the SIT of Chandigarh police are much junior then the prime accused.
The AAP MLA said: “Y Puran ji was a brave person, but such circumstances were created...even after he is no more, we are struggling to get a proper FIR registered.”
“It is almost eight decades since India became free, still, there is exploitation and harassment on the basis of one’s caste. In his final note, which is his dying declaration, he has given an account of how he was harassed based on caste basis,” Rattan said.On Amneet’s objections to the FIR, Rattan said, “What is the meaning of this FIR where no one has been mentioned in the accused column?”
After meeting Kataria in Ludhiana, Chaudhry and Rattan reached the official residence of Amneet in Sector 24, Chandigarh.
Cheema seeks immediate action
AAP leader and Punjab finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema also demanded immediate suspension and arrest of all officers named in the Haryana IPS officer’s “final note’” under the relevant sections of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and abetment to suicide.
Accusing the BJP of fostering an atmosphere of blatant caste-based discrimination, he claimed that the gravity of the situation under their rule was beyond appalling. “We have seen repeated instances of rising crimes against SCs and STs in BJP-ruled states like Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, as documented in national crime records,” he claimed.
