Haryana IPS officer's 'suicide': Chandigarh Police moves court for directions to family to identify
Chandigarh (PTI): With the family of Haryana IPS officer Y Puran Kumar, who allegedly committed suicide, refusing to give consent for his autopsy, the Chandigarh Police on Tuesday moved a court here to seek direction to his family to identify the body for a postmortem examination.
On the police's plea, the local court issued a notice to Kumar's wife and IAS officer Amneet P Kumar to file a reply either personally or through counsel on October 15, failing which the application will be decided on merits.
Kumar, 52, allegedly shot himself dead on October 7. However, the postmortem of his body is yet to be conducted as his family has been insisting for action against officers who have been named in a "final note" of the deceased officer.
Kumar's body has been kept at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research.
The Chandigarh Police on Tuesday said it was constrained to move a local court for direction to the family to come forward for identification of the body for the postmortem.
Police earlier requested the family through the investigating officer, the senior superintendent of police and inspector general of police for the autopsy of the Kumar's body.
It was conveyed that it is absolutely vital at this stage that the postmortem be conducted at the earliest to preserve important forensic evidence and in the interest of justice, said a statement of the Chandigarh Police on Tuesday.
Police also moved the court for direction for the production of a laptop of the deceased officer for further investigation.
The family has not yet handed over the laptop, allegedly used by Kumar to type his "final note", to the police.
Police also said notices have been issued to the Haryana government for providing certain documents.
Police had earlier said that a board of doctors was constituted for the autopsy in the presence of executive magistrate, ballistic expert, toxicology expert, forensic expert, and fingerprint expert with videography and photography.
On Sunday, a 31-member committee which was recently formed to seek "justice" for the deceased officer's family gave a 48-hour ultimatum to act against Haryana DGP Shatrujeet Kapur and Narendra Bijarniya, who was recently transferred as Rohtak SP.
Jai Narayan, spokesperson of the committee, told reporters here Tuesday evening that the committee will hand over a memorandum to Punjab Governor-cum-Chandigarh Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria on Wednesday to demand appropriate action by the Chandigarh Police in the Kumar's "suicide" matter.
In an eight-page "final note" purportedly left behind by Kumar, he accused eight senior IPS officers, including Haryana DGP Kapur and now-transferred Rohtak SP Bijarniya, of "blatant caste-based discrimination, targeted mental harassment, public humiliation and atrocities".
Kumar's wife has demanded that Kapur and Bijarniya be named in the FIR for allegedly abetting her husband's suicide. The officer's family, which is also seeking their arrest, has refused to give consent for a postmortem and cremation until its demands are addressed.
The Haryana government Tuesday sent DGP Kapur on leave amid opposition's attack on the BJP dispensation over Kumar's alleged suicide, and demand by Kumar's family for action against the officers accused of harassing him.
"Yes, the DGP has been sent on leave by the government," said Rajiv Jaitly, media adviser to the Haryana chief minister.
Later, an official order dated October 14 said that O P Singh, a DGP rank 1992- batch IPS officer, has been assigned the "additional charge of DGP Haryana during the leave period of Shatrujeet Kapur..."
Singh is currently posted as Director General of Haryana State Narcotics Control Bureau; Managing Director, Haryana Police Housing Corporation, Panchkula; and Director, Forensic Sciences Laboratory, Madhuban.
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Climate Change crisis: IMD to change parameters to declare heatwaves
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): The IMD, along with its technical partners, will soon revise the criteria for declaring heatwave conditions in the country, as the present parameters do not suit India’s geographical conditions, according to official sources here.
Kerala, in particular, has faced difficulties in issuing heatwave warnings because of the limitations of the existing parameters.
Sources in the India Meteorological Department said the state experienced severe heat and humidity this summer and, for the first time, weather forecasts were made based on the anti-cyclone system that formed near the Karnataka–Maharashtra coast.
"We have never had an anti-cyclone system form closer to the South before, and this time we had to predict the weather based on it," a senior IMD official told PTI.
Anti-cyclonic systems are common over north-western parts of India, but this year one formed near the southern region, leading to unusually hot nights.
The anti-cyclone caused downward air movement, which pushed warm air towards the surface and prevented it from dispersing at night, the official added. As a result, Kerala recorded night temperatures 3 to 4 degrees Celsius above normal.
Because Kerala has experienced a steady temperature increase during the summer months for the last few years, changing the parameters for declaring heat waves would benefit the state, enabling the authorities to issue warnings more efficiently, the official added.
The IMD currently issues hot and humid weather warnings, although the situation warrants a heatwave warning, as the existing parameters do not allow the department to issue one.
At present, the IMD issues a heat wave warning in coastal areas when the maximum temperature reaches 37 degree Celsius or more with a temperature departure of 4.5 degree Celsius over the recorded maximum temperature.
For plains, the threshold is 40 degrees Celsius with a departure of 4.5 degrees Celsius or more from normal, while for hilly regions it is 30 degrees Celsius with a departure of 4.5 degrees Celsius or more.
Officials said the current heatwave declaration parameters also require these conditions to be recorded at two stations in the state to issue the warnings.
"In Kerala, we hardly get to record these conditions in two areas; moreover, we have severe heat stress that can easily cause a heat stroke. So we have decided to rework the heatwave declaration parameters and the changes will be implemented shortly. There will be a consultation with the Disaster Management Authority also before finalising the parameters," the official said.
Throughout Kerala, temperatures recorded this summer were three to four degrees Celsius higher than usual. The state also reported multiple cases of heatstroke despite regular warnings issued by the IMD and the state disaster management authority.
According to experts, Kerala has become a climate change hotspot, with a steady increase in atmospheric temperatures and erratic monsoons.
The IMD has also predicted a below-normal monsoon this year, as this is the first time two consecutive El Nino years are being witnessed.
