Days after he was named in a suicide note, the Haryana Government on Saturday transferred Rohtak Superintendent of Police (SP) Narendra Bijarniya, one of the cops against whom IPS officer Y Puran Kumar’s wife was seeking action for allegedly abetting his suicide.
As the controversy deepened, several officials and ministers from Haryana and politicians from various States met Kumar’s wife, IAS officer Amneet P Kumar, on Saturday. Chandigarh DGP Sagar Preet Hooda, who also visited the residence of Puran Kumar, said his family members have refused to give their consent for the post-mortem examination due to some grievances and discussions are underway to resolve them. In a ‘final note’ purportedly left behind by Kumar (52), a 2001-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, after he allegedly shot himself dead at his residence on Tuesday, he had accused eight senior cops, including Bijarniya and Haryana DGP Shatrujeet Kapur, of “blatant caste-based discrimination, targeted mental harassment, public humiliation and atrocities”.
In a brief official order issued on Saturday, IPS officer Surinder Singh Bhoria was appointed as the new Rohtak SP. It said the posting order of Bijarniya will be issued separately. There was no mention of Puran Kumar’s death case.
Meanwhile, Kumar’s family objected to shifting the body of the IPS officer from the Government Multi-Speciality Hospital in Sector 16 here to the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) on Saturday, without their knowledge. Speaking to reporters, Amit Rattan, the Punjab AAP MLA from Bathinda Rural and brother-in-law of the deceased, said, “They have shifted the body without asking us. Injustice is being done to us. Five days have passed since a DGP-level officer died, but we have not got justice yet.” Rattan is the brother of the Kumar’s wife.
Mukesh Kumar, a member of Dalit body Valmiki Army, said the Chandigarh administration took the body to the PGIMER without the consent of the family. Unless justice is delivered to the family and action is taken in the matter, post-mortem and cremation will not be allowed, said Kumar, who is a member of a 31-member committee formed by the outfit to ensure that the family’s demands and concerns are addressed by authorities.
Meanwhile, frantic efforts were underway from the Haryana government to persuade Kumar’s wife to agree to the post-mortem examination and cremation. Haryana Ministers Anil Vij, Krishan Lal Panwar and Krishan Kumar Bedi also reached her residence at Sector-24. A few Haryana officers, including Rajesh Khullar and home secretary Sumita Misra, also met the deceased’s wife.
Chandigarh DGP Sagar Preet Hooda, after visiting Kumar’s residence, told reporters he has requested the family to get the post-mortem done as early as possible. The autopsy will be conducted at the PGIMER, for which a board has been constituted comprising a magistrate, forensic experts and doctors, the DGP said, adding videography and photography (of the post-mortem) will also be done. Hooda, however, said the post-mortem will be conducted only after the family gives its consent. Asked why the family members have not given their consent till now, Hooda said they have some grievances, which are being discussed. On why police have not added the names of the suspects to the FIR lodged in the case, the officer said an investigation is underway. A special investigation team (SIT) headed by an IG-rank officer has been formed for the probe, Hooda said.
