The body of senior Haryana IPS officer Y. Puran Kumar was cremated eight days after his suicide. His two daughters performed the funeral rites in the presence of acting DGP O.P. Singh. A police contingent gave him the last salute.
The administration had a tough time persuading Puran Kumar’s widow IAS officer Amneet to allow post mortem of the body. She had demanded action against former DGP Shatrujeet Kapoor and other officers for abetting this suicide.
When the administration approached the court to seek permission for post mortem, Puran Kumar’s widow finally consented. In her statement, she said, the administration has promised her a ‘fair, transparent and impartial’ investigation.
Meanwhile, the family of Assistant Sub-Inspector Sandeep Lather, who committed suicide after levelling serious corruption charges against Puran Kumar, finally consented for a post-mortem after Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini went to their village and assured the family of ensuring justice.
The family is demanding martyr status for the ASI, who belongs to the Jat community. The chief of Jat Mahasabha Sandeep Bhati has said, 36 biradaris of Jat community will fight for justice and for reforming the police system.
Congress leaders who had gone to meet Dalit IPS officer Puran Kumar’s family a day before, went to ASI Sandeep Lather’s village on Wednesday to console the family. Former CM Bhupinder Hooda demanded that the entire matter be investigated transparently to bring out the whole truth.
The double suicide of IPS officer Puran Kumar and ASI Sandeep Lather is gradually taking the shape of a caste confrontation.
Puran Kumar’s family had been alleging from Day One that the suicide was a result of caste-based harassment. On the other hand, the Jat Mahasabha leaders say, the charges levelled by ASI Sandeep Lather must be investigated and truth must come out.
Jat community leaders say, the matter would not have gone out of control had Puran Kumar’s IAS wife not stopped the post-mortem of her husband’s body and Sandeep would not have committed suicide.
Two days ago, Congress and INLD leaders were seen supporting Puran Kumar’s family, but a day later, Bhupinder Singh Hooda and INLD leader Abhay Chautala, realising caste sensitivities, stood with Sandeep’s family.
Officers of IPS and IAS are not speaking out openly because of Rules of Business for Civil Services, but the two suicides have divided sympathy among the IPS and IAS officers. Here too, a caste divide is clearly emerging.
For Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, he is caught between the devil and the deep sea. His main worry is, his own officers are now on a confrontation course. This is the reason why the Chief Minister is being extremely careful while dealing with this issue.
Stealing Tirupati Lord’s money : A grave sin
The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) board is facing serious charges relating to an alleged Rs 100 crore scam linked to theft of donations received at the world famous Tirumala Lord Venkateswara temple. Andhra Pradesh DGP (CID) Ravishankar Ayyanar on Tuesday seized documents relating to alleged swindling of foreign currency notes offered to the ‘Hundi’ in the form of donations by devotees at the Tirupati temple.
The seizure took place a day after the High Court pulled up the police over “slack and indifferent” handling of the probe and failure in timely securing vital evidence.
The controversy dates back to April, 2023, when C.V. Ravikumar, a clerk attached to Pedda Jeeyar Mutt, was caught stealing 900 US dollars from the hundi (donation box). A TTD official Satish Kumar lodged a complaint, police investigated and filed a charge sheet. But before a court could give its verdict, Satish Kumar filed a petition in a Lok Adalat for disposing of the case.
The surprising part was, Ravikumar and his wife donated their flats worth Rs 15 crore in Chennai and Tirupati, to the TTD board, and the case was closed by the Lok Adalat.
TTD board member G. Bhanu Prakash Reddy alleged that the swindle took place during former CM Jaganmohan Reddy’s tenure. He alleged that some ministers and MLAs of Jagan Mohan Reddy’s party were involved in the swindle.
Bhanu Prakash Reddy alleges, it was not a matter of theft of USD 900 only. The reality was, whenever the ‘hundi’ was opened for counting cash, cctv cameras were closed, and crores of rupees worth currencies were swindled.
Reddy alleges, the properties worth Rs 15 crore that were ‘donated’ by C.V.Ravikumar to the temple, were the ones that were donated by devotees to the temple, which Ravikumar had registered in his name.
Now since the matter has reached the AP High Court, police has swung into action. The High Court has directed that all seized documents be produced in court.
Tirumala Lord Venkateswara shrine is the world’s second richest temple of the world. It has deposits running into Rs 22,000 crore and it collects interest amounting to Rs 1300 crore annually. You can well imagine the amount of donations that lakhs of devotees offer to the Lord.
The best part is, most of the donated amount goes to running charitable hospitals and educational institutions. Stealing donation is nothing short of a grave sin. What bigger sin can it be if people start swindling the money that is donated to the Lord?
Since there is allegation that there are some top people involved in this swindle, the matter needs to be probed in depth. It is a risky job.
I would like to praise Bhanu Prakash Reddy who took on this risk and exposed the swindle. Now that the CID is active, one should hope that the swindlers will be exposed soon.
Get connected on Twitter, Instagram & Facebook