Union Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal on Thursday termed “inappropriate” the attempt to politicise and give caste colour to the alleged death by suicide of Haryana IPS officer Y. Puran Kumar at his residence in Chandigarh on October 7. The 52-year-old officer, who was serving as the Inspector General of Police at the Police Training Centre in Sunaria, Rohtak, had accused eight senior police officers of “blatant caste-based discrimination, targeted mental harassment, public humiliation, and atrocities” in a note.
Mr. Lal made the comments during an interaction with mediapersons at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Rohtak, where he met the family members of Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) of Haryana Police Sandeep Kumar Lather, who ended his life on October 14 after accusing the deceased IPS officer and his family of corruption in a letter and a video. Lather, posted in Rohtak’s cyber cell, had shot himself dead with his service revolver in Ladoth village, the police said.
Terming both incidents “very unfortunate”, the Union Minister said this should not have happened, but now it is time to handle the situation well. “Unfortunately, some political leaders tried to politicise the first incident and an attempt was made to give it a caste colour, which was not appropriate.”
