The murky case of Haryana twin cops' suicide explained
What's the story
The successive suicides of two senior Haryana police officers have exposed deep-rooted issues within the state police. The first officer, Y Puran Kumar, a 2001-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, shot himself dead on October 7, days after he was transferred from his post as Inspector General (IG) of the Rohtak range to Sunaria Police Training College on September 29. He was reportedly transferred without prior notice.
Sequence
Puran's vehicle was stopped
This transfer allegedly disturbed him deeply, and he gave up the post on September 30 and went on leave for a week. Before the transfer, a tense exchange had reportedly taken place between him and a Rohtak police team when he was traveling to Chandigarh with his Personal Security Officer (PSO), Sushil Kumar, on October 1. They were stopped by the Rohtak police team, which also included now-deceased ASI Sandeep Lathar.
Accusations
DGP's alleged silence
Per reports, Sushil was detained without an FIR and when Puran objected, the police allegedly threatened him, saying, "Next, it will be your turn." In captivity, Sushil was tortured and pushed into making a false statement against Puran, sources told India Today. He was interrogated for five days in illegal custody because no formal case was filed at the time. Seeking intervention, Puran contacted the DGP, but he "hushed up the conversation," his wife alleged in her complaint.
Legal action
Alleged extortion leading to suicide
On October 6, an FIR was registered against Sushil under the Prevention of Corruption Act for allegedly extorting ₹2.5 lakh from a businessman. This move was reportedly aimed at ensuring no prior government sanction would be needed to arrest Puran through Sushil. PCA does not grant special immunity from arrest to IAS or IPS officers. On October 7, Puran allegedly died by suicide at his residence, leaving behind a note naming eight IPS officers for harassment and maligning his image.
Second suicide
ASI's suicide and accusations against superior officer
Then on October 14, ASI Lathar, who was investigating the case against Puran's PSO Sushil, also died by suicide. In his note and video message, he accused Puran of bribery, extortion, and sexual harassment. Sandeep alleged that Puran replaced honest officers with corrupt ones and that he used his caste for corruption activities. "These people blocked files, called petitioners and mentally tortured them by asking for money. Women police personnel were sexually exploited in exchange for transfers," he alleged.
Allegations
Alleged deal with gangster
Lathar also alleged that Puran struck a ₹50 crore deal with gangster Rao Inderjit to clear his name from a murder case. "A corrupt officer [referring to Y Puran Kumar] has taken money to exclude some names in a murder case registered at Sadar police station and he fixed a deal of ₹50 crore to take out the name of Rao Inderjit [a Gurugram based businessman]," he said in his final video.
Gangster
Gangster hiding in US
Inderjit faces multiple criminal cases in Haryana, and he is currently hiding in the United States. He allegedly planned the murder of financier Manjeet in Rohtak. His name has also come up in the shooting at controversial YouTuber Elvish Yadav's house, as well as the attack on Haryanvi rapper-singer Rahul Yadav, also known as Fazilpuria. The Haryana BJP government has since sent the DGP on leave and replaced Rohtak SP Narendra Bijarnia.