Bhubaneswar, Oct 14: Odisha Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Rama Chandra Kadam on Tuesday demanded an impartial and high-level probe into the death of Haryana IPS officer Y. Puran Kumar, urging the immediate arrest of those named in the officer’s purported suicide note.
Addressing a press conference in Bhubaneswar, Kadam said the nine-page note, allegedly written by Kumar on October 7, mentions senior Haryana Police officers, including the Director General of Police, and accuses them of caste-based harassment. He called the case a matter of “grave injustice” and urged that it be investigated by a central agency such as the CBI.
“I am deeply anguished by this tragedy. If senior officials are named in the note, they should be suspended, arrested, and investigated by the CBI. Justice must be ensured for the bereaved family, and adequate safeguards must be provided to Dalit officers who speak out against discrimination,” Kadam said.
He accused the Haryana government of fostering an environment in which a Dalit officer seeking justice felt compelled to take his own life and demanded that the Centre take swift action to restore public faith in the system.
The Congress party said Kumar, a 2001-batch IPS officer, had long advocated for proportional representation and reservation for Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) officers in promotions and recruitment. Despite an FIR filed by his wife, the party alleged that no action has been taken against the senior officers named in the note, reflecting the Haryana government’s “caste-based mindset.”
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also visited Kumar’s family on Tuesday, demanding justice and swift action on the allegations. Kumar was found dead at his official residence in Chandigarh on October 7, allegedly by suicide using his service revolver.
