A Haryana Police assistant sub-inspector (ASI) was found dead in Rohtak on Tuesday, just a few days after an IPS officer was reportedly suspected to have died by suicide. ASI Sandeep Kumar was said to have left behind a six-minute video and a note levelling corruption and casteism charges against a senior IPS officer.
Official sources state that Sandeep Kumar's body was found in a room adjacent to a field in Ladhot village, Rohtak district. From Julana in Jind district, Kumar was posted in the Cyber Cell and had previously been based at the Rohtak Superintendent of Police's office.
Confirming the incident, Rohtak SP Surendra Singh Bhoria said, "This was a hardworking ASI of our Police Department, Sandeep. He was very honest and hardworking. His body has been found. A Forensic team has been called here, and an investigation is being carried out...He was posted in Cyber Cell."
Final note and video surface
A “final video” by the ASI, which is six minutes and 26 seconds long, has been released on social media. Kumar, in the video, states he is giving up his life for honesty, comparing himself to freedom fighter Bhagat Singh. He had blamed IPS officer Y Puran Kumar, who had committed suicide on October 7, for taking bribes and misusing powers.
“The people will wake when we walk on truth. A corrupt officer [referring to Y Puran Kumar] has taken money to exclude some names in a murder case registered at Sadar police station, and he fixed a deal of ₹50 crore to take out the name of Rao Inderjit [a Gurugram-based businessman]. Narendra Bijarniya is an honest officer who stood against him. Bijarniya is bearing his expenses from his salary, and he has helped the cops. The IG started targeting cops on the basis of caste and he started giving posts to corrupt persons from his community”, Sandeep Kumar said in the video, as Hindustan Times reported.
Link to previous IPS officer's suicide
The newest death has occurred just a week after IPS officer Y Puran Kumar, an officer of the 2001 batch, had allegedly committed suicide in Chandigarh. Kumar, in his "final note," had implicated several senior officers, including SP Bijarniya and Kapur, for harassing him and resorting to casteist remarks, which he said had given him emotional distress.
After his death, the Haryana government removed Rohtak SP Bijarniya, another of the named officers in the IPS officer's note. Kumar's wife, IAS officer Amneet P. Kumar, had requested action against the alleged abettors of the suicide.
SC/ST act invoked
The Chandigarh Police had previously registered an FIR on IPS officer Kumar's note and subsequently filed charges under the SC/ST Act on his wife's request. For ASI Sandeep Kumar's case, police initiated a forensic and cyber inquiry to cross-check the truthfulness of the video and note. The government stated that only after a forensic check will some action be initiated.
