Haryana ASI commits suicide in Rohtak, names Puran Kumar in purported video and note
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Chandigarh (PTI): A Haryana Police assistant sub-inspector allegedly shot himself dead in Rohtak district on Tuesday, purportedly leaving behind a six-minute video and a three-page suicide note levelling corruption allegations against the late IPS officer Y Puran Kumar.
The veracity of the video and the statement could not be immediately verified.
Police sources said ASI Sandeep Kumar (42) played a role in the arrest of head constable Sushil Kumar, an aide of Puran Kumar who was an inspector general in Rohtak district and was found with a gunshot wound in his Chandigarh home last week.
The body of the ASI, who was posted in the cyber cell of the Rohtak district police office, was recovered from a makeshift room of his relative in the fields on the Ladhaut-Dhamar Road in Rohtak.
Sandeep Kumar allegedly committed suicide on the upper floor of the room that had been built for the motor of the tubewell servicing in his maternal uncle's fields.
After the incident, the family took the body to the house of a relative in the same village.
"We are trying to take a complaint from them (ASI's family) so that FIR can be lodged," a police official said, adding they were also trying to persuade the family to move the body to a mortuary.
Police are yet to comment officially on Sandeep Kumar's note or the video. "Sandeep shot himself," a senior police official from Rohtak said over the phone.
His alleged suicide comes against the backdrop of the escalating controversy over the death of IPS officer Puran Kumar, who purportedly left a note accusing eight officers, including DGP Shatrujeet Kapur and Rohtak SP Narendra Bijarniya, of "blatant caste-based discrimination, targeted mental harassment, public humiliation and atrocities".
While the government has sent DGP Shatrujeet Kapur on leave, Bijarniya was transferred last week and was replaced by S S Bhoria as Rohtak SP.
Meanwhile, Rohtak Police said they received information that ASI Sandeep Kumar had committed suicide by shooting himself with his service pistol.
"A suicide note was found near the body. Furthermore, a video was also recorded by Sandeep Kumar before his alleged suicide, which is being investigated by the police," an official said.
Talking to reporters at the site of the incident, Rohtak Superintendent of Police S S Bhoria said, "ASI Sandeep was a very hardworking and honest person in our department. We received information that a body had been found, after which we reached here."
Asked about the video and the note, he said, "To say anything at this stage is difficult... the forensic team is investigating."
In the video, Sandeep Kumar purportedly levelled serious allegations against Puran Kumar, saying even freedom fighter Bhagat Singh made sacrifices and walked a difficult path after which the country awakened.
"And today, this country will awaken when we sacrifice ourselves on the path of truth," he is purportedly heard as saying while claiming that "honest officer" Narendra Bijarniya had confronted Puran Kumar.
Sandeep, in the video and the alleged suicide note, also demanded that a "probe must be conducted", which will look into the assets of Y Puran Kumar and his family members.
Puran Kumar's name had cropped up in a bribery scandal recently.
A liquor contractor in Rohtak filed a bribery case against head constable Sushil Kumar. He alleged that Sushil Kumar sought a bribe of Rs 2.5 lakh in Puran Kumar's name (when he was posted there).
Sushil Kumar was arrested recently.
Puran Kumar, 52, had recently been posted as inspector general, Police Training Centre (PTC), in Sunaria, Rohtak.
The Rohtak Police, meanwhile, said they stand with the ASI's family in this hour of grief and appealed to the public to maintain peace and law and order.
ASI Sandeep Kumar is survived by three children and five sisters, police sources said.
His relative Sheeshpal, who lives in Julana, said that Sandeep used to do a lot of work for society and was an active blood donor.
He was an honest officer, he said.
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India progressing under PM Modi, Karnataka heading towards decline: Union Minister Kumaraswamy
Bengaluru (PTI): Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy has said while India is moving steadily towards becoming the world’s third-largest economic power under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, Karnataka is heading in the opposite direction under the Congress government.
Speaking at a programme to mark the 101st birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, along with the Atal Award presentation and Good Governance Day celebrations, the JD(S) leader said Karnataka was once a model state for governance and development.
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“Karnataka was once synonymous with exemplary governance. It had adopted an outstanding development model and emerged as a leader for the entire nation. But under the Congress government’s administration, all these distinctions have been lost, and the State is now moving in the opposite direction,” Kumaraswamy said.
He alleged that the current dispensation has completely damaged the education sector, noting that Karnataka was once a frontrunner in education.
“Karnataka, which once ranked first in good governance, has reached such a state today. Frivolous politics is being played in a good State. Administration across all departments; including health, education, agriculture and revenue has deteriorated. People must now seriously introspect,” he said.
Asserting that the era of good governance must return, Kumaraswamy said people are fed up with the misgovernance of this government.
Bengaluru, once the IT-BT capital and a hub of education and technology, has seen its infrastructure completely deteriorate, he said.
"The state government lacks the mindset to accept even well-intentioned and expert advice. It has developed a culture of speaking irresponsibly even about Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.”
Noting that the state has all the potential and capacity to move forward, the union minister said, “At a time when India is stepping forward to become the world’s third-largest economic power under Modi government, one wonders in which direction Karnataka is heading? It is moving backwards and sliding into decline.”
Remembering Vajpayee as “Ajatashatru”, a leader without enemies who rendered long and distinguished service to the nation, Kumaraswamy said leaders like Vajpayee are rare today.
“His contributions as External Affairs Minister, Leader of the Opposition and Prime Minister were immense. He was a visionary leader who took the BJP from just two seats to 170 seats in Parliament,” he added.
Expressing concern over growing unrest, he said, “Karnataka must once again become a garden of peace for all communities. There is unrest in society. When one looks at what is happening within families, it causes anxiety. While technology is advancing and economic strength is increasing, there is fear even in turning on the television in the morning. There is no peace of mind for anyone. It is for this reason that I have advocated teaching the Bhagavad Gita at the school level. Unfortunately, politics is being unnecessarily mixed into this issue."
