Bribes, caste, gangsters: Haryana Police under lens after twin cop suicides

The mystery surrounding the shocking suicides of two senior Haryana police officers is getting murkier by the day amid allegations of caste discrimination, corruption, and extortion within the state police force. Allegations of police-gangster links have also emerged, throwing the Haryana Police into a credibility crisis.

The saga, which started with the suicide of senior IPS officer Y Puran Kumar, who accused his seniors of harassment and caste discrimination, took a new twist this week after an assistant sub-inspector (ASI), Sandeep Lathar, allegedly shot himself and blamed the former of corruption.

Amid mounting pressure, the BJP government sent Haryana DGP Shatrujeet Kapur on leave and replaced Rohtak's superintendent of police, Narendra Bijraniya. They were among the eight senior IPS officers named by Puran Kumar in his suicide note.

The case has also taken a political turn, with the Congress and the opposition alleging that Puran Kumar, a Dalit, was forced to take the extreme step due to systematic discrimination.

With fresh details emerging each day, here is a recap of what has happened so far. To understand the sequence of events, we need to go back to September 29, eight days before Puran Kumar allegedly shot himself dead.

SEPTEMBER 29: THE TRANSFER

On September 29, Puran Kumar, a 2001-batch IPS officer, was transferred from the post of IG (Rohtak range) to Sunaria Police Training College. The transfer, which allegedly came without prior intimation, deeply disturbed the 52-year-old officer. He gave up the post on September 30, and went on leave for a week.

OCTOBER 1: PSO'S DETENTION

On October 1, while he was travelling from Rohtak to Chandigarh with his Personal Security Officer (PSO) Sushil Kumar, Puran Kumar's car was intercepted by a Rohtak police team, which included ASI Sandeep Lathar.

Puran Kumar's security officer was detained without any FIR or warrant being shown. When Kumar objected, the police allegedly threatened him, saying, "Next, it will be your turn". Before being taken into custody, PSO Sushil Kumar left his service revolver in the car - the gun that Puran Kumar later used to shoot himself, sources said.

OCTOBER 1–5: INTERROGATION

Sources said PSO Sushil Kumar was interrogated for five days in illegal custody, as no formal case was registered at that time. During this period, he was allegedly tortured and pressured to give a false statement against Puran Kumar.

Amid this, Puran Kumar made repeated calls to then Haryana DGP and Rohtak SP Narendra Bijarnia, seeking intervention and protection of his and his family's reputation. However, sources said the IPS officer's calls went unanswered.

OCTOBER 6: FIR AGAINST SECURITY GUARD

Finally, on October 6, a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA) was registered against Sushil Kumar. The FIR alleged that he tried to extort Rs 2.5 lakh from a businessman.

ASI Sandeep Lathar was part of the team investigating this case against Sushil Kumar. Lathar, who was involved with the cyber team, was the one who got phone details related to the Sushil Kumar case.

Senior IAS sources said the FIR was filed strategically to ensure that no prior government sanction would be needed to arrest Puran Kumar, since he would be indirectly linked through his PSO.

OCTOBER 7: THE SUICIDE

Puran Kumar allegedly shot himself dead at his Chandigarh Sector 11 residence on October 7. An eight-page note purportedly left behind by Kumar mentioned that continuous harassment, humiliation and the "false case" against his PSO drove him to take the step. He named eight senior IPS officers for allegedly maligning his image.

On October 8, Puran Kumar's wife, senior IAS officer Amneet P Kumar, returned from Japan and filed a police complaint. She refused to conduct a post-mortem unless the accused named in the suicide note were arrested.

LAPTOP CONTROVERSY

After Puran Kumar's death, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case wrote to his wife and asked her to submit his official laptop for forensic examination to verify the authenticity of his suicide note.

However, Amneet Kumar sent a three-page letter to the SIT, stating that she had already granted police access to the laptop on October 10, and that their IT team had failed, after four hours, to generate a digital fingerprint of the data. She also alleged that the case was being misrepresented despite her full cooperation.

ASI'S SUICIDE ADDS TWIST TO CASE

In a dramatic twist to the case on October 14, Sandeep Lathar, the police officer probing corruption allegations against Puran Kumar, shot himself dead. His body was found near a farm along the Rohtak-Panipat road.

He left behind a three-page note and a video message in which he called the Puran Kumar a "corrupt officer" and accused the later IPS officer and his cronies of bribery, extortion, and sexual harassment of women officers. Lathar also accused his IAS officer's wife of corruption in the video.

The ASI claimed that Puran Kumar took his own life after realising that the investigation would expose his family members. "I am sacrificing my life to demand an impartial probe. This corrupt family should not be spared," the note read.

Lathar also mentioned how Puran Kumar manipulated the system through "caste politics", and had removed certain officers to install his "own hand-picked, corrupt team".

GANGSTER-POLICE NEXUS?

A major allegation by ASI Lathar was that Puran Kumar struck a deal of Rs 50 crore with Rao Inderjit, a notorious gangster, to clear his name from a murder case. Rao Inderjit, who runs a company called 'James Music', is currently hiding in the US.

He is said to have connections with the Himanshu Bhau gang. His name recently surfaced in the murder case of Rohtak financier Manjeet. He was also linked to the firing incident at YouTuber Elvish Yadav's house. Rao Inderjit's name also came up in the attack on singer Fazilpuria.

While the initial probe around Puran Kumar's death focused on caste discrimination, ASI Sandeep Lathar's allegations paint a picture of high-level corruption and gangster-police nexus. Is there more to the saga than it meets the eye?

(With inputs from Aman Kumar Bhardwaj)

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