A senior Haryana-cadre IPS officer, Y Puran Kumar, was found dead at his government residence in Sector 11, Chandigarh, on Tuesday afternoon in what police suspect to be a case of suicide.
According to officials, Kumar allegedly shot himself inside his residence. He was serving as the Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) at the Police Training College, Sunaria (Rohtak).
Chandigarh Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kanwardeep Kaur confirmed that a police team reached the site soon after receiving information about a shooting incident around 1:30 PM.
“When we reached, we found that a reported suicide had taken place. The body of IPS officer Y Puran Kumar was found at his residence. The CFSL team has reached the spot, and an investigation is underway. More details will be known after the post-mortem,” SSP Kaur said.
The officer’s body was subsequently shifted to Sector 16 Government Hospital for post-mortem examination. Forensic experts and a CFSL team were also called to examine the scene and collect evidence.
Police sources said that Kumar’s daughter was the first to discover the body in the basement of their house and immediately informed authorities.
Kumar, a 2010-batch IPS officer, is survived by his wife, Amneet P. Kumar, an IAS officer who is currently on an official visit to Japan as part of a delegation accompanying the Chief Minister.
Following the tragic incident, senior police officers and local residents gathered outside the officer’s residence as the investigation progressed.
Sources revealed that though Kumar held the rank of ADGP, he was serving in a post equivalent to an Inspector General (IG).
Last year, Kumar had made headlines after filing a complaint under the ‘One Officer, One House’ policy, alleging that several IPS officers were occupying multiple government accommodations.
He had also submitted a complaint to the State Commission, accusing a former Director General of Police (DGP) and an Additional Chief Secretary of caste-based discrimination.
Police have not recovered any suicide note so far. The investigation into the cause and circumstances of the officer’s death is ongoing.
