- Investigation into Haryana IPS officer Y Puran Kumar's suicide has stalled over his laptop
- Kumar was found dead at his Chennai home, believed to have shot himself with service revolver
- His suicide note accused 10 senior officers of caste-based discrimination and harassment
The investigation into Haryana IPS officer Y Puran Kumar's death by suicide has hit a roadblock: his laptop. While Chandigarh police insist that the officer's laptop is necessary for the probe, Kumar's wife, IAS officer Amneet P Kumar, has refused to hand over the device, saying it contains personal information.
Around 1.30 pm last Tuesday, 52-year-old Kumar was found dead in the basement of his Chennai home. The 2001-batch IPS officer is believed to have shot himself dead with his service revolver.
A note found later accused 10 senior and retired police officers of "blatant caste-based discrimination, targeted mental harassment, public humiliation and atrocities" against Kumar.
In the aftermath of the officer's death, his wife, IAS officer Amneet P Kumar, has filed a police complaint, demanding action against the top officers Kumar accused in his note. "This is not a case of ordinary suicide but a direct result of systematic persecution of my husband -- an officer from SC community -- by powerful and high-ranking officers who have used their positions to mentally torture him, ultimately driving him to such an extent that he was left with no other option but to take his life," she said in her complaint.
Haryana's Director General of Police Shatrujeet Singh Kapur has been sent on leave, and Rohtak police chief Narendra Bijarnia has been transferred in light of the serious allegations.
Chandigarh Police has sent a notice to the IPS officer's IAS officer wife, asking her to hand over the laptop. According to police sources, the laptop is a key piece of evidence. Police plan to send it for forensic testing to establish the authenticity of the suicide note. Police also want to use the laptop to find out how many recipients the suicide note was sent to and when the recipients saw it, sources say.
The IPS officer's family, however, has refused to hand over the laptop. Instead, they have asked the Chandigarh police to clone data from the laptop for use in the investigation.
A week after the IPS officer's suicide, a post-mortem examination is pending. The family has refused to give its consent for the autopsy unless an FIR is registered against the top officers named in Y Puran Kumar's suicide note.
