Committee gives 48-hour ultimatum to remove DGP

Chandigarh: A 31-member committee, formed to ensure acceptance of demands of the family of Haryana IPS officer Y Puran Kumar, who allegedly committed suicide, has given a 48-hour ultimatum to the Chandigarh administration and the Haryana government to remove state police chief Shatrujeet Kapur from his post.

Kapur is one of the police officers against whom Kumar’s wife, IAS officer Amneet P Kumar, has sought for allegedly abetting his suicide.

A decision in this regard was taken by the committee at a mahapanchayat held at Guru Ravidas Bhavan in Sector 20 here on Sunday. A heavy police presence was seen around the venue of the event.

“The Haryana DGP and the former Rohtak SP should be arrested in the matter. The Haryana government should remove the DGP from his post. We have given 48 hours after which we will decide the next course of action,” a spokesperson of the committee told reporters here after the mahapanchayat.

Despite six days having passed since Kumar, who was last posted as IG at Police Training Centre in Rohtak’s Sunaria, died, his post-mortem examination and cremation have not been conducted yet, as the family has refused consent until their demands are met.

The event also witnessed unruly scenes after former Haryana MP Raj Kumar Saini, who had floated his own outfit a few years ago, allegedly made a controversial remark, which triggered an angry reaction from the gathering. Order was restored after organisers appealed to maintain calm.

A message was read on behalf of the IPS officer’s family, appealing for support in their fight for justice.

Gurmail Singh, who is also a member of the committee, said the demand for a judicial probe into the matter was also raised during the mahapanchayat.

Karamvir, another member of the committee, said, “The family and the Dalit community are apprehensive that if the last rites of the deceased officer are conducted, then the government may not act against the accused”. “If justice is not given to the family, then we will decide the next course of action...We want to know what the Special Investigation Team, which has been constituted by Chandigarh police, has so far done in this case,” he said.