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The visit comes amid growing Opposition pressure on the Haryana government; the family has yet to allow a post-mortem.

Chandigarh:  Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday met the family of senior Haryana IPS officer Y Puran Kumar, who allegedly died by suicide last week, triggering a political storm and allegations of caste-based harassment within the state police.

After landing at the Chandigarh airport, Gandhi reached the officer’s residence in Sector 24 to offer condolences to the bereaved family. He was accompanied by former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) president Rao Narender Singh, Rajya Sabha MP Deepender Hooda, and Congress MLA Varun Chaudhary.

Gandhi’s visit came a day after the Haryana government sent DGP Shatrujeet Kapur on leave and gave O P Singh, Director General of the State Narcotics Control Bureau, additional charge as the new DGP. The move followed growing outrage over the allegations raised in the late officer’s note and the Opposition’s charge that the government had mishandled the case.

The note and the allegations

In an eight-page note purportedly written before his death, Puran Kumar (52) accused eight senior IPS officers, including DGP Shatrujeet Kapur and then Rohtak SP Narendra Bijarnia, of “blatant caste-based discrimination, targeted mental harassment, public humiliation, and atrocities.” The note, now part of the FIR, has prompted demands for a judicial probe and a more exhaustive review of institutional accountability within the state police.

The officer’s wife, senior IAS officer Amneet P Kumar, has demanded that Kapur and Bijarnia be named in the FIR for allegedly abetting her husband’s suicide. The family has also sought their arrest and has refused to give consent for the post-mortem and cremation until the demands are accepted.

Political reactions and fallout

Since the officer’s death, leaders from across parties have visited the family in Chandigarh. The Opposition, led by the Congress, has intensified its attack on the Nayab Singh Saini government, accusing it of shielding senior officials and failing to address caste bias in the bureaucracy.

The state government, meanwhile, has attempted to contain the fallout by sending DGP Kapur on leave, replacing SP Bijarnia, and cancelling Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally in Sonipat, which was to be held on October 17 to mark one year of the Saini government.

Administrative changes

O P Singh, a 1992-batch IPS officer, was given additional charge as Haryana DGP late Sunday night. Known for his field policing experience and tenure as DG, State Vigilance Bureau, Singh’s appointment is seen as a move to restore stability within the force.

The Haryana Police, already under scrutiny, faces pressure to deliver a credible and impartial investigation into the case. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by the Chandigarh Police is continuing its probe into the circumstances leading to the officer’s death.