Union Minister Chirag Paswan met the grieving family of Haryana IPS officer Y. Puran Kumar on Tuesday, pledging swift justice and decrying the "poison of casteism" that allegedly drove the 52-year-old to suicide last week. Addressing reporters after the condolence visit at the family's residence, Paswan, national president of the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), asserted that without accountability, no Dalit family would encourage their children to pursue careers as IAS or IPS officers, highlighting a profound crisis in social equity even as India advances globally.
Kumar, a 2001-batch IPS officer serving as Superintendent of Police in Nuh district, allegedly shot himself on October 7 at his official residence, leaving behind an eight-page suicide note that accused eight senior colleagues of caste-based discrimination, mental harassment, public humiliation, and atrocities. The note specifically named Haryana Director General of Police Shatrujeet Singh Kapur and then-Rohtak Superintendent of Police Narendra Bijarniya, among others, for fostering a toxic environment rooted in Kumar's Dalit background.
His wife, senior IAS officer Amneet P. Kumar, has demanded their inclusion in the FIR for abetment to suicide and their immediate arrest, refusing consent for postmortem or cremation until justice is served. The family, supported by Dalit advocacy groups, views the incident as emblematic of systemic bias in elite services, where Scheduled Caste officers—comprising about 15% of the cadre per government data—often face subtle yet pervasive barriers despite reservation policies.
Paswan, whose party is allied with the BJP-led NDA, framed the tragedy as a national shame, contrasting India's lunar missions and global stature with domestic caste prejudices. "On one hand, we are presenting India as a power on the world stage... while on the other, one officer is victimised such that he lost his life," he said, labelling it a wake-up call for society. He assured the family of governmental intervention, vowing the "strictest action" against the guilty, regardless of rank, and personally committing to their cause: "This is my family. Amneet ji is my sister... I will fight along with her." The minister's intervention comes amid mounting pressure from opposition parties, including Congress and AAP, who have accused the BJP government of shielding influential figures and demanded a high-level probe.
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In response to the uproar, the Haryana government placed DGP Kapur on leave Tuesday, a move welcomed by the family but deemed insufficient by critics calling for his suspension and a judicial inquiry. Bijarniya was transferred earlier, but no FIR has been registered against the accused as of now. The case has ignited broader debates on affirmative action's efficacy, with activists citing similar instances—like the 2023 suicide of another Dalit officer in Uttar Pradesh—as evidence of entrenched hierarchies.
As the investigation unfolds under the Haryana Police's Crime Branch, Paswan's pledge underscores the political stakes: failure to act could erode trust in merit-based institutions and dampen aspirations among marginalised communities, potentially fuelling electoral narratives in upcoming polls.
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