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Chandigarh: Congress leader and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi today visited the family of deceased Dalit police officer Y. Puran Kumar in Chandigarh, highlighting the institutional discrimination the officer faced due to his caste that contributed to his tragic death. The case has brought renewed attention to caste bias within India\u2019s power structures.<\/p>\n
According to Kashmir Media Service, Gandhi, who offered condolences to Kumar\u2019s wife and daughters, demanded the immediate arrest of all officials named in the senior officer\u2019s suicide note, said there was systematic discrimination against Kumar to demoralise him and damage his career. \u201cEven after his death, his family continues to face immense pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kumar, a 2001-batch IPS officer, was found dead with a gunshot wound at his Chandigarh home on October 7. His eight-page signed suicide note mentioned \u2018caste discrimination\u2019, \u2018mental harassment\u2019, \u2018public humiliation\u2019 and \u2018atrocities\u2019, naming 11 senior police officials, including Haryana Director General of Police (DGP) Shatrujeet Singh Kapur, for his \u201cinstitutional persecution.\u201d<\/p>\n
Speaking to reporters outside the officer\u2019s home, Gandhi said the case is not just about one family but sends a disturbing message to Dalit communities across India. \u201cCrores of our Dalit brothers and sisters are watching. A wrong message is being sent to Dalits\u2026 that no matter how intelligent, capable, or successful you are, if you are a Dalit, you can be suppressed, crushed, and discarded.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gandhi, who spent nearly half an hour with the bereaved family, pointed out that Y Puran Kumar and his wife belong to the Dalit community, saying that the officer faced long-standing institutional discrimination. \u201cThis is not something that happened just in 10-15 days, it has been a systematic effort for years \u2014 to demoralise this officer, to damage his career, and his reputation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Gandhi urged Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini to \u201cend this drama\u201d and deliver justice. \u201cTake immediate action against the officers responsible for his death so that the pressure on the family is lifted,\u201d he said. He added that despite the Haryana CM\u2019s promise three days earlier to act against the accused, no concrete step had been taken so far. \u201cThe commitment given to these two daughters must be fulfilled so that their father\u2019s funeral can finally take place with dignity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Kumar\u2019s wife, Amneet Kumar, in her complaint to the Chandigarh Police, stated that her husband endured years of caste-based humiliation and harassment by senior officials. \u201cHe had told me that a conspiracy was being hatched against him under the directions of DGP Kapur,\u201d she said. KMS-12S<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Chandigarh: Congress leader and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi today visited the family of deceased Dalit police officer Y. Puran Kumar in Chandigarh, highlighting the institutional discrimination the officer faced due to his caste that contributed to his tragic death. The case has brought renewed attention to caste bias within India\u2019s power structures. …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":165499,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-185641","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-india"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t