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Hry IGP found deadwith gunshot wound
A 52-year-old Haryana IPS officer, Y Puran Kumar, was found dead in Chandigarh, suspected suicide; a will and a nine-page note were recovered.
A 52-year-old senior Haryana IPS officer was found dead with a gunshot wound at his residence in Chandigarh on Tuesday afternoon, with police suspecting suicide/
Y Puran Kumar, a 2001-batch officer currently posted as inspector general of police (IGP) at the Police Training Centre in Sunaria, Rohtak, was discovered by his 17-year-old daughter in the soundproof basement of his house at Sector 11 around 1.15pm. He had allegedly shot himself with a revolver that he had taken from a gunman, police said.
“An information regarding a reported suicide was received from House No 116, Sector 11, Chandigarh, around 1.30pm today. The deceased has been identified as Y Puran Kumar, IPS (2001 batch), Haryana cadre,” said Chandigarh senior superintendent of police Kanwardeep Kaur. “The Central Forensic Science Laboratory team is at the spot, and investigation is underway.”
An official statement released by Chandigarh police stated, “As a part of recovery, a ‘will’ and a suicide note was recovered at the scene, both of which were seized along with other evidence.” Police said the note runs into nine pages and mentions the names of some police officers in Haryana. While the contents of the letter have not been disclosed, officials confirmed that it is being examined.
Apart from Kumar’s daughter, police said, two servants were present at the house and all of them are being questioned.
The rank of IGP is the third most senior in the police hierarchy of gazetted IPS officers in a state.
Kumar’s wife, Amneet P Kumar, an IAS officer serving as commissioner and secretary of the Department of Foreign Cooperation in the Haryana government, is in Japan as part of a delegation led by chief minister Nayab Saini. She is expected to return to Chandigarh on Wednesday morning.
The officer’s death comes barely a month after his transfer to the Police Training Centre in Sunaria from his previous posting as Rohtak Range IG—a tenure marred by multiple controversies.
Kumar had made serious allegations against senior officials, including filing a formal complaint in May 2021 with the Ambala superintendent of police against the then director general of police Manoj Yadava. He accused Yadava of humiliating and harassing him because of his caste, seeking registration of an FIR under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
In his complaint, Kumar alleged that after both he and Ambala SP Abhishek Jorwal visited a temple inside the traffic police station Sahazadpur premises on August 3, 2020, only he was questioned about obtaining prior permission for the temple. Yadava wrote to him on August 17, 2020, seeking an explanation, but no such query was directed at Jorwal, Kumar had claimed.
Yadav did not respond to the allegations at the time and later, the Haryana government rejected Kumar’s complaint against him in an order passed by Rajeev Arora, additional chief secretary (home) Haryana in 2021.
The IPS officer had also raised concerns over alleged illegal surveillance, claiming that his mobile phone’s internet protocol detail records, including WhatsApp call details, logs and chats, were unlawfully accessed by certain police and administrative officers in 2021. He wrote to the DGP stating he learnt from “reliable sources” that his privacy had been breached in an unethical manner.
A Haryana police officer said that Kumar’s alleged suicide may be linked to an FIR registered in Rohtak in connection with a case of bribery in which a police officer had demanded money from a liquor contractor.
Kumar had approached the additional director general of police (CID) to assess the threat perception to him, citing security concerns arising from his complaint against a senior IAS officer.
He expressed apprehension that his privacy was compromised as contempt and writ petitions in which senior police and administrative officers were respondents remained pending in court.
In November 2023, Kumar sought permission from the then chief secretary Sanjeev Kaushal to lodge an FIR against the then home secretary TVSN Prasad, alleging that he had been posted to a “non-cadre and non-existing post” of IG, Home Guards, because of his caste.
Though Prasad didn’t respond to the allegation, a senior officer had said that the posting and transfers of IPS officers were done at the CM-level.
The officer had also questioned the promotion of certain IPS officers belonging to the 1991, 1996, 1997 and 2005 batches, and had gone to court against a former state police chief.
