"Stone-Hearted" Modi Slammed by Rahul Gandhi Over Dalit IPS Officer's Tragic Death, Urgent Call for Arrests

Chandigarh – Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday visited the residence of late Haryana IPS officer Y Puran Kumar in Chandigarh, where he met the grieving family and reiterated demands for swift justice amid allegations of caste-based harassment that allegedly led to the officer's suicide last week. The visit comes hours after the Haryana government placed state Director General of Police (DGP) Shatrujeet Kapur on compulsory leave, a move seen as a response to mounting political pressure over the handling of the case.

Gandhi, accompanied by Congress leaders, spent over an hour with Kumar's wife, IAS officer Amneet Puran Kumar, and their two daughters, offering condolences and assuring them of the party's support. Speaking to the media outside the residence, Gandhi described the officer's death as a "shocking tragedy that shakes the conscience of our society and system," highlighting the family's week-long wait for a dignified funeral and the broader pain inflicted on the Dalit community.

"The suicide of IPS officer Y. Puran Kumar ji is a tragedy that shakes the conscience of our society and system," Gandhi said ."What could be more painful than the fact that Y. Puran Kumar ji's wife has been waiting for a week to perform her husband's last rites with dignity? The entire Dalit society, which feels their pain and the mental agony they are going through, is shaken just by imagining it."

Gandhi accused the Narendra Modi-led central government and the Haryana administration of "stone-hearted" inaction, alleging that "brutal oppression" has flourished under their rule. He pointed to the lack of arrests despite days passing since the incident, calling it "clear injustice" and urging Prime Minister Modi and Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini to immediately act against the guilty officers, ensure arrests, and provide justice and respect to the family.

The Congress leader emphasized that Kumar's wife, a serving IAS officer, faces potential pressure, underscoring the need for urgent intervention. "As Leader of Opposition, my direct message to the country's Prime Minister and Haryana's Chief Minister is: Fulfill the promise you made to Puran Kumar ji's two daughters. Allow their father's last rites and stop this farce," Gandhi added. "Act against the guilty officers and remove the pressure being mounted on this family."

Gandhi framed the incident not as an isolated family tragedy but as a systemic issue of institutional discrimination against Dalits. "For years, institutional discrimination was meted out to IPS officer Y Puran Kumar. Several officers were working to end his career and humiliate him," he stated. "Such incidents send the wrong message to crores of Dalit brothers and sisters in the country that no matter how successful or capable you are, if you are Dalit, you can be suppressed, crushed, and thrown away. We will not accept this."

The 2001-batch IPS officer, who served as Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) for Law and Order, was found dead from a gunshot wound at his Chandigarh home on October 7, with a suicide note allegedly naming senior IPS and IAS officials, including DGP Kapur, for harassment linked to his caste. Kumar's family has claimed his reputation and career were systematically destroyed through caste bias, a narrative Gandhi echoed during his visit.

In a related development, the Haryana government late Monday night directed DGP Kapur to proceed on leave with immediate effect, handing over additional charge to senior IPS officer Om Prakash Singh. The decision followed intense criticism from opposition parties, including Congress, and public outrage over the delayed probe. Haryana Chief Minister Saini had earlier promised a fair investigation and action to the family, but Gandhi alleged the assurances are not being fulfilled, with pressure mounting on Kumar's daughters.