Investigation Stalls as Family Withholds Laptop in Haryana IPS Officer's Suicide Case

Chandigarh Police have issued a notice to IPS officer's wife Amneet P Kumar, requesting his laptop for investigation purposes.

Chandigarh:

The investigation into Haryana IPS officer Y Puran Kumar's suicide has encountered a significant obstacle regarding his laptop. Chandigarh police maintain that the device is essential for their investigation, while Kumar's wife, IAS officer Amneet P Kumar, has declined to surrender it, citing concerns about personal information stored on the device.

Last Tuesday at approximately 1:30 pm, the body of 52-year-old Kumar was discovered in the basement of his Chennai residence. The 2001-batch IPS officer apparently took his own life using his service revolver.

A suicide note was subsequently found in which he accused 10 senior and retired police officers of "blatant caste-based discrimination, targeted mental harassment, public humiliation and atrocities" against him.

Following the officer's death, his wife, IAS officer Amneet P Kumar, has submitted a police complaint demanding action against the high-ranking officers named in Kumar's note. She stated, "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."

In response to these serious allegations, Haryana's Director General of Police Shatrujeet Singh Kapur has been placed on leave, and Rohtak police chief Narendra Bijarnia has been reassigned.

Chandigarh Police have formally requested the IPS officer's wife to surrender his laptop. According to police sources, the device represents crucial evidence. Investigators plan to conduct forensic analysis to verify the authenticity of the suicide note. They also intend to determine how many recipients received the suicide note and when they viewed it.

However, the officer's family has refused to hand over the laptop, instead suggesting that Chandigarh police create a data clone for investigative purposes.

One week after the IPS officer's suicide, an autopsy remains pending. The family has withheld consent for the post-mortem examination until an FIR is registered against the senior officers named in Y Puran Kumar's suicide note.