Hry SP named in suicide note by IPS transferred

POLICE ALSO ADDED STRINGENT SECTIONS OF SC/ST ACT TO THE FIR FOLLOWING PROTEST BY THE DECEASED'S FAMILY

- Naina Mishra and Brjiender Gaur

The Haryana government on Saturday transferred a senior police officer, while the Chandigarh Police invoked stringent provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act in connection with the alleged suicide of IPS officer Y Puran Kumar, amid mounting pressure from the deceased's family and opposition parties.

In his first public comments on the case, chief minister Nayab Singh Saini said the guilty would be punished "irrespective of their official posts," as he assured Kumar's family of justice.

As per an official order, the state government transferred Rohtak Superintendent of Police (SP) Narendra Bijarniya, one of 14 current and former senior officials named by Kumar.

Kumar (52), a 2001-batch IPS officer, was found dead with a gunshot wound at his Chandigarh residence on October 7. In a "final note", the Haryana Inspector General of Police (IGP) accused 14 senior officers, including incumbent state DGP Shatrujeet Singh Kapur and Bijarniya of prolonged caste-based discrimination, targeted mental harassment and humiliation.

"The [new] posting orders [of Bijarniya] will be issued separately," the order said, announcing IPS officer Surinder Singh Bhoria as his replacement.