‘He Lied…’: What Haryana ASI Sandeep Lathar Told His Friend Hour Before ‘Suicide’

Just hours before allegedly shooting himself on Tuesday, Sandeep Lathar stopped by a tea stall near the Rohtak bypass, a place he often met his friends.

But this time, they sensed something was wrong. He appeared “troubled and distracted”, recalled one of them. After receiving a phone call, Sandeep Lathar abruptly left, telling his friends he was heading back to his office, a claim that turned out to be untrue. Within an hour, news broke that he had died by suicide, found with a gunshot wound at his uncle’s house, The Indian Express reported.

“He lied,” Sandeep’s friend Sanjay Deswal, who was part of that group of friends, told the newspaper on Wednesday while describing their last meeting.

Within an hour or so, Deswal came to know that Sandeep had “died by suicide”, found lying in a pool of blood at his uncle’s house in the middle of a field.

The ASI left behind a 6.28-minute video and a “final note” levelling serious allegations of corruption against Haryana IGP Y Puran Kumar, who had died by suicide days ago.

“We met at the tea stall near the bypass at around 11.30am. He had called around 11am, saying ‘let us meet here for tea and a chat’. It was our usual hangout place. Four-five of us reached and the topic of discussion was the way the death of IGP Puran Kumar was being handled. It appeared that the suicide was troubling Sandeep, and he did not like the direction in which the probe was headed,” Deswal was quotes as saying.

“A few minutes into the conversation, Sandeep got a phone call, after which he said he was heading back to his office. He left on his bike and I assumed he was going back to the cyber cell. I, too, returned home and within an hour heard about his death. Then, the video of a farm labourer saying he had seen a body with a gunshot wound went viral,” he said.

“Sandeep, an honest cop who used to analyse the CDR and DVR and was an expert in cyber and technical things. He was among the team that intercepted Sushil Kumar, an associate of former IGP Y Puran Kumar. Sushil had abused him and threatened to face dire consequences for arresting him,” a colleague told HT.

The case has sparked political outrage, with opposition leaders demanding an impartial investigation. Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and INLD leader Abhay Singh Chautala have called for a probe under the supervision of a sitting judge of the Punjab and Haryana high court to ensure fairness.

Chief minister Nayab Singh Saini, accompanied by state ministers Mahipal Dhanda and Krishan Lal Panwar, visited Lathar’s family in Ladhot to offer condolences and assure them of a fair investigation.

The Haryana Police has registered an abetment of suicide case in connection with the death of Lathar based on the note and video he left behind.

Lathar claimed that he had “ample evidence” against the IPS officer, saying Kumar had “killed himself to avoid family humiliation”.

Haryana chief minister’s OSD Virender Singh Badhkhalsa informed Lathar’s family about the FIR and urged them to give consent for the autopsy.

The ASI in the video purportedly said that even Bhagat Singh made sacrifices and walked a difficult path, after which the country awakened. “And today, this country will awaken when we sacrifice ourselves on the path of truth,” he says.

The policeman also claimed that Bijarniya is an “honest officer” who confronted Puran Kumar.

Lathar, who was part of the CIA-2 team, helped intercept and arrest Sushil Kumar a day before the IPS officer’s death. Following the arrest, Sushil Kumar allegedly abused and threatened him.