Haryana Police Officer's Suicide: Wife Alleges Undue Pressure from Senior Officials and Corruption

ASI Sandeep Lathar had been involved in the arrest of Head Constable Sushil Kumar.

In Chandigarh, an FIR has been registered regarding the suicide case of Assistant Sub-Inspector Sandeep Kumar Lathar, claiming that "undue pressure" from IAS officer Amneet P Kumar (wife of IPS officer Y Puran Kumar), MLA Amit Rattan, and two other police officers drove him to end his life.

The complaint filed by Lathar's wife, Santosh, contains serious allegations against Amneet Kumar and her brother, who serves as the MLA from Bathinda Rural.

It should be noted that Puran Kumar also died by suicide in Chandigarh earlier this month.

Santosh has additionally requested a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the matter. Attempts to reach Amneet Kumar and Rattan for comment were unsuccessful.

ASI Lathar, who worked in the cyber cell in Rohtak, allegedly shot himself on October 14. He left a suicide note accusing the late IPS officer Y Puran Kumar of corruption. Puran Kumar had also served in the same district.

In a six-minute video, Lathar had mentioned Puran Kumar's wife, a senior bureaucrat in Haryana.

ASI Lathar had participated in arresting Head Constable Sushil Kumar, who served as IG Puran Kumar's gunman.

Sushil Kumar was arrested in relation to a bribery complaint from a liquor contractor who alleged that Sushil had demanded Rs 2.5 lakh using Puran Kumar's name when Kumar was stationed in Rohtak.

Puran Kumar, 52, who had recently been appointed as Inspector General at the Police Training Centre in Rohtak's Sunaria, shot himself at his Chandigarh residence on October 7.

In his final note, Puran Kumar claimed harassment and caste discrimination by senior police officers in Haryana. Police have registered a case regarding this matter.

A separate abetment of suicide case was filed on October 15 concerning ASI Sandeep Kumar Lathar's death, following Santosh's complaint.

The FIR names IAS officer Amneet P Kumar, Bathinda Rural MLA Rattan, gunman Sushil Kumar, another policeman named Sunil posted at Rohtak IG office, and an unidentified individual.

Santosh alleged that before and after the corruption case was registered, Sushil Kumar, Sunil Kumar, and others "were continuously pressuring and threatening" her husband.

In her complaint, Santosh claimed these threats were made "citing the influence of IG Puran Kumar's wife Amneet P Kumar, her brother (MLA Amit Rattan), and their relatives in the Scheduled Castes Commission because my husband Sandeep was involved in the investigation of this case."

Santosh further alleged that a vigilance investigation was underway against Puran Kumar, his wife, and other IAS and IPS officers, with the government expected to take strict action against them.

To avoid government sanctions, Puran Kumar's family and "some other corrupt officers" were exerting "undue pressure" to halt these proceedings and were seeking action against "honest officers," according to her statement.

"Because of this, IG Puran Kumar committed suicide. IG's wife Amneet P Kumar and her brother, Amit Rattan, did not get the post-mortem of Kumar's body done in order to put pressure on the government to arrest honest officers and employees of the police department..." she claimed.

Santosh mentioned that while Sushil Kumar had been arrested, others remained free. She stated this is why her husband, ASI Sandeep Lathar, took his own life.

"This is why my husband took this extreme step and ended his life. This is a fight between honest and corrupt officers," she wrote in the complaint.

Santosh urged authorities to examine the properties owned by both her family and the accused to determine "who is corrupt and who is honest." She concluded by saying, "There should be a CBI probe into the entire episode."