'It's Honest Officers vs Corrupt,' Says ASI's Wife in FIR Following Husband's Suicide

Haryana Police ASI Sandeep Lathar's suicide has turned dramatic with his wife's FIR clearly portraying it as a struggle between clean and dirty cops. The complaint, the local police had hushed up earlier, has now emerged with the charges of systemic pressure and intimidation.

The Core Allegations

Santosh Lathar's FIR mentions some big shots: late IPS officer Y Puran Kumar's wife Amneet P Kumar (an IAS officer), her MLA brother Aman Ratan, IG's gunman Sushil Kumar, IG office staffer Sunil Kumar, and an unidentified person. The FIR has been registered under Sections 108 and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and is investigated by a DSP-level officer in charge of the Special Investigation Team. "It is a battle between honest and corrupt police officers. An investigation into our property as well as that of the accused will identify who among us is honest and who is corrupt. The whole incident should be investigated by the CBI," Santosh said in her complaint. 

The Corruption Case Connection

The charges are for a case of corruption lodged against Puran Kumar and his gunman at Urban Estate police station in Rohtak. Santosh alleged that her husband was tasked with probing the case and this led to an intimidation campaign against him.

"Threatening and pressurizing my husband Sandeep before and after the registration of the aforementioned case by gunman Sushil Kumar, IG office official Sunil Kumar and others, referring to the high status of IG's wife Amneet P Kumar, IAS, her brother Aman Ratan, MLA, and their cousin in the Scheduled Castes Commission," reads the FIR. Gunman Sushil Kumar was taken into custody in relation to the corruption case, and other individuals named were allegedly facing the threat of arrest when matters escalated.

Timeline of Pressure and Tragedy

Santosh's complaint implies that IPS officer Puran Kumar's suicide on October 7 had itself been linked to the corruption probe and pending action by the Vigilance Department. She accuses Kumar's family, especially his wife Amneet and brother-in-law Aman Ratan, of delaying the post-mortem examination on purpose to put pressure on the government.

The postponement reportedly was to press government action against honest police officers probing the case of corruption during which accused parties were vying for top-level government jobs. Santosh alleges a top-level Vigilance inquiry was in progress against the IG, his wife, and other IAS/IPS officers on the government's verge of taking tough action.

Throughout the week leading up to his death, Santosh remembers that her husband kept repeating "there was no value of honest officers and employees in the Police Department." His statement depicts that he felt alone and unhelped when confronted with pressure by influential parties.

The case points to disturbing dynamics among Haryana's police and administrative cadre. The charges imply that officers carrying out legitimate corruption probes were intimidated by suspects under investigation, who invoked their bureaucratic and political clout as shields.

The role of an IAS officer, MLA, and top police officers in the supposed pressure campaign highlights concerns regarding accountability mechanisms for top-ranking government servants. If Santosh's complaints are correct, it would reflect that honest officers risk their careers and personal lives if they investigate influential people.

Call for Independent Inquiry

Santosh's insistence on CBI probe indicates her seeming lack of faith in the state-level probe mechanisms. In light of the ranks and designations of the accused, she most probably suspects that internal probes would be under undue pressure.

Her effort to compare property records between her family and the accused is a bid to prove credibility through documentation. It is an indication that she feels financial imbalances will substantiate her description of the dispute as being honest against corrupt.  

The case is now in the hands of the SIT, although popular attention will be on whether the investigation remains independent or withstands the same pressures Santosh feels motivated her husband to commit suicide.