Liquor contractor alleges Haryana IGP’s aide demanded ₹2.5 lakh monthly bribe; seeks impartial probe

In a complaint filed on October 6 at Urban Estate police station, Rohtak, Bansal claimed that Sushil Kumar, now in judicial custody, pressured him in June this year to pay ₹2.5 lakh monthly to “IG Sahab” to continue his liquor business without interference.

A day after Haryana inspector general of police (IGP) Y Puran Kumar was found dead with a gunshot wound at his Chandigarh residence, Rohtak-based liquor contractor Praveen Bansal alleged that an exemptee assistant sub-inspector (EASI), Sushil Kumar, had demanded bribes on behalf of the senior officer.

In a video statement, Bansal sought an impartial probe and claimed he was mentally and physically tortured after receiving threats from gangsters.

In a complaint filed on October 6 at Urban Estate police station, Rohtak, Bansal claimed that Sushil Kumar, now in judicial custody, pressured him in June this year to pay ₹2.5 lakh monthly to “IG Sahab” to continue his liquor business without interference.

“I received a call from Sushil in June asking me to visit the IG’s office. When I went there, he warned that I would face cases under the Excise Act, like other businessmen, if I didn’t pay a monthly amount to IG Sahab. On July 9, he called again and met me at my office, where my friend Jai Bhagwan was also present. Sushil demanded ₹2.5 lakh per month, assuring me that IG Puran would cooperate,” Bansal stated in his FIR.

He alleged that Sushil first demanded the money and later arranged a meeting with the then Rohtak IG. In a video statement, Bansal sought an impartial probe and claimed he was mentally and physically tortured after receiving threats from gangsters. “I have submitted audio clips in which Sushil Kumar is demanding monthly bribes on behalf of Y Puran Kumar,” he added.

Rohtak superintendent of police Narendra Bijarniya said Sushil Kumar had confessed to collecting bribes on behalf of the IGP, though the IPS officer had not been summoned for questioning yet.

According to senior police officials, notorious gangster Himanshu Bahu—originally from Ritoli village and currently living abroad—was extorting money from Bansal. The contractor had approached IGP Puran Kumar for protection. Sushil Kumar, a Yamunanagar native posted in Narnaul, had been living with the IGP for the past five years, officials said.

Police have since provided security to Bansal and filed a case against Bahu and his gang.

“The contractor had been paying monthly bribes since June but stopped after IGP Puran was transferred to the Police Training College in Sunaria, Rohtak,” a senior officer revealed. “He was shifted after Bansal complained to the Rohtak SP and higher officials in Chandigarh. Other businessmen were also paying Sushil Kumar similar amounts,” the officer added.