Former Punjab CM Channi calls late IPS officer Y Puran Kumar a ‘martyr for justice and Dalits’

In an emotionally charged visit, Punjab MP and former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi met the family of the late IPS officer Y Puran Kumar and his wife, IAS officer Amneet P Kumar, at their residence in Chandigarh.

Standing before the grieving family, Channi declared that Kumar “did not die by suicide but was martyred for standing up for Dalits and the poor.”

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Recalling Kumar’s integrity and courage, Channi said that during the farmers’ protest in Haryana—when Kumar was posted in the state—he had been “allegedly instructed to open fire and take strict action against the agitating farmers.”

“But he refused to adhere to such directions,” Channi said. “That was his integrity. Y Puran Kumar did not commit suicide; he is a martyr who stood up for justice and the downtrodden.”

The Congress leader, who visited his residence on Saturday here, lamented the state of affairs in the country, saying that “even an ADGP-rank officer in India is unable to get justice today.” He blamed what he termed the “Manuwadi mindset propagated by the RSS-BJP,” adding that this mindset “has now spread across the country. It is this mindset that forced Kumar to take the extreme step.”

Highlighting Kumar’s lifelong commitment to equality, Channi said the officer had been a strong and fearless voice within the police department, championing the rights of Dalit and reserved category officers.

“He often questioned why officers from the reserved category were being denied their due posts as SHOs and DSPs,” Channi noted. “He was carrying forward the ideology of Dr BR Ambedkar.”

Expressing deep anguish over what he described as the “mishandling” of the case, Channi said that even days after Kumar’s death, “neither has justice been delivered nor has his body been treated with the dignity it deserves.”

“His body is being disrespected, and those responsible for his death are being protected,” he alleged.

Channi demanded immediate action against all those who had “pressured or instigated Kumar to end his life,” calling for them to be “booked, arrested, and put behind bars.”

When informed that SP Narender Bijarniya, one of the officers allegedly named in the case, had been transferred from Rohtak, Channi dismissed the move as a token gesture.

“Transfers are administrative formalities, not punishments,” he said.

He went on to question the absence of accountability in the investigation. “Whenever there is a case, an FIR is registered, accused are named, and arrests are made. But in this case, nothing of that sort has happened. This has become routine under the BJP’s rule. We will not remain silent,” Channi said firmly.

Reiterating his party’s support for the bereaved family, Channi said that the Congress and other like-minded groups “stand united with the family of Kumar, who laid down his life fighting for the oppressed.”