Haryana cop's 'final note' details 'mental harassment', humiliation, names DGP: Sources
Chandigarh (PTI): A note left behind by Haryana Police officer Y Puran Kumar, who allegedly shot himself dead at his Chandigarh residence, names "senior officers" and details "mental harassment" and humiliation he faced over the past few years, according to sources.
Y Puran Kumar, 52, a 2001-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, was found with a gunshot wound in a room in the basement of his Sector 11 house.
Known for his interventions in matters related to the rights of officers and seniority, Puran Kumar was recently posted as the Inspector General of the Police Training Centre (PTC) in Rohtak's Sunaria.
His bureaucrat wife, Amneet P Kumar, who rushed to Chandigarh from Japan, where she was a part of a Haryana government delegation, on Wednesday claimed in a police complaint that her husband's death was the result of "systematic persecution" by high-ranking officers.
She requested an FIR against Shatrujeet Kapur, DGP Haryana, and another senior IPS officer, under Section 108 BNS, 2023 (abetment of suicide) and provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Both officers could not be reached on the phone despite attempts.
Physical and electronic evidence, including the weapon Puran Kumar allegedly used to shoot himself, was seized by a team from the Central Forensic Sciences Laboratory (CFSL), Chandigarh police said on Tuesday.
A "will" and a "final note" were also found at the scene and seized, police said.
Sources said that Kumar left an eight-page typed and signed 'final note', which he titled "Continued blatant caste based discrimination, targeted mental harassment, public humiliation and atrocities by concerned senior officers of Haryana since August 2020 which is now unbearable."
The note alleges caste-based discrimination, public humiliation, targeted mental harassment, and atrocities the officer was subjected to, the sources said.
It mentions a "mala fide generation of mischievous anonymous and pseudo-anonymous" complaints against him, floated and processed by some officers for months together to publicly humiliate and embarrass him and thereby damage his reputation, they said.
Kumar, who comes from the Scheduled Caste community, named a few officers who allegedly blatantly misused their official positions and authority, and compelled him to kill himself, according to sources.
Despite complaints against the officers, they were not investigated, the letter claims, sources said.
The note mentions an instance where a bureaucrat, now retired, did not sanction his earned leave on time, due to which he could not visit his father before his death.
Kumar, in the note, says that he raised these issues before many officers, "which are a matter of record," sources said.
The note alleges that some officers left no stone unturned in harassing him by their "discriminatory, caste based mental harassment and humiliation in public view."
"... I thought over carefully and was convinced and I cannot bare this continued and concerted conspiracy … to continue with caste-based discrimination, public humiliation, targeted mental harassment and atrocities any longer and hence this final decision to end it all," it reads, according to the sources.
Kumar alleges that no action was taken when he complained against a fellow officer, "which clearly is proof of prejudicial treatment against me."
He alleges that a top-ranking IPS officer from the state made certain comments in his annual performance appraisal report for the period ending March 31, 2024, which were "factually incorrect, purely imaginary, unsubstantiated, loaded with his personal prejudice and in violation of principles of natural justice."
He says he approached a senior bureaucrat requesting him to intervene, but in vain, sources said.
The note mentions that while allotting official accommodation to him in Panchkula, Kumar was subjected to additional rules, while in another incident, in November 2023, his official vehicle was withdrawn.
Meanwhile, Congress MP from Ambala, Varun Chaudhary, termed the suicide "deeply tragic and shocking" and demanded a judicial inquiry to ensure a fair and transparent probe into the incident.
On Wednesday, Chandigarh police in a statement said they had analysed "some CCTV cameras" in connection with the alleged suicide.
"Request was moved to Director Health Services Chandigarh for constitution of a medical board with a forensic expert for post-mortem.
"Further, additional rooms in the residence (in Sector 11) which were inaccessible yesterday and were sealed by the CFSL, Sector 36, Chandigarh, wherein another copy for Will and final note were recovered. Some electronic items were also seized from the residence," police said.
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Lebanon appoints new representative for talks with Israel, rejects linkage to Iran
Beirut: Lebanon’s has moved to underline its independent position in ongoing regional developments, amid attempts to link the country to the broader conflict involving Iran, the United States and Israel.
President Joseph Aoun, while announcing the appointment of former US ambassador Simon Karam as Lebanon’s representative in talks with Israel, made it clear that Karam would be the sole representative for Lebanon and that there would be no substitute.
The move comes in response to what the Lebanese officials see as efforts by Iran to tie Lebanon’s situation to the wider regional conflict. Iran had indicated that there would be no ceasefire involving the US, Israel and Iran unless it also included a ceasefire in Lebanon.
Some groups, including Hezbollah and its supporters, had expressed support for linking the situations, citing concerns that the Lebanese government has limited leverage in negotiations with Israel. Lebanon is not formally a party to the conflict, and its army is considered weak.
However, others, including Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, have opposed this approach. They view Iran’s stance as an attempt to influence Lebanon’s internal affairs and see it as undermining the country’s sovereignty.
Officials backing the government’s position say the move is aimed at reaffirming Lebanon’s sovereignty and ensuring that decisions about peace and ceasefire within the country are not dictated externally.
They also see it as a safeguard, so that any breakdown in talks between the US, Israel and Iran does not automatically lead to renewed conflict in Lebanon.
