Year 2025 for Haryana: IPS officer suicide, busting of ‘white-collar’ terror module mark state’s unquiet year
While the BJP continued its winning momentum by sweeping the March 2025 civic polls after its third consecutive win in the October 2024 assembly polls, the Congress, looking to reverse its electoral fortunes, was left blank.
In November, the detonation of a terror module made headlines for weeks and led authorities to put Haryana on maximum alert.
Just a month before the terror module was busted, another development that made national headlines was the alleged suicide of a senior IPS officer; This triggered a series of events and resulted in the dismissal of the then DGP Shatrujeet Kapur.
Y Puran Kumar (52), a 2001-batch IPS officer, allegedly shot himself to death at his private residence in Sector 11 on October 7.
In the latest memo, allegedly eight pages long, Kumar accused several senior officials of “blatant caste-based discrimination, public humiliation and persecution”.
Kumar’s IAS wife Amneet P Kumar is currently serving in the Haryana government. A week after her husband’s death, she finally gave consent for the autopsy after receiving assurances from the Chandigarh Police that a fair investigation would be conducted. A twist in the Kumar suicide case came when sub-inspector Sandeep Kumar, posted in the cyber cell in Rohtak, allegedly shot himself dead, a few days after the IPS officer took the extreme step. He also left a “final note” dispelling corruption allegations against late IPS officer Kumar.
In November, the “white-collar” terror module was busted by the Jammu and Kashmir Police and its counterparts in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, leading investigators to Al Falah University in Faridabad because some faculty members were linked to the blast near the Red Fort in Delhi.
2,900 kg of explosives were seized from two villages in Faridabad district and Dr Muzzamil Ganaie, a resident of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district, was among the first to be arrested in Faridabad, among many others, including some Kashmiri doctors, who were later arrested in the case.
Later, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) took over the investigation in its ‘white-collar’ terror module linked to the Delhi car blast that killed 15 people in the Red Fort area on November 10.
Also in November, Haryana, known as the sports hub of India, witnessed two young basketball players – Hardik Rathi (16) and another teenager Aman (15) – die in eerily similar accidents after the hoop’s iron pole was crushed on the court during training.
Twin tragedies in Rohtak and Jhajjar districts have put the state’s sports infrastructure under scrutiny.
The year also witnessed many Haryana youths being deported by the US after choosing the dangerous ‘donkey route’ to enter the country.
In May, the dispute between Punjab and Haryana over water sharing intensified when Haryana asked the AAP government in the neighboring state to allow unconditional release of water from the Bhakra dam.
This monsoon season, many Haryana districts were affected by heavy rains and floods, and 12 people lost their lives as a result of houses collapsing.
In September, Rao Narender Singh was appointed as the new state Congress president, while former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda was appointed as the CLP leader.
Senior leader Sampat Singh left the Congress a month after canvassing Hooda’s appointment as CLP leader.
In mid-November, the Congress launched a month-long protests across the state after Rahul Gandhi claimed that the 2024 Haryana assembly polls were “stolen”, citing voter roll data and claiming that 25 lakh records were fake and that the Election Commission colluded with the BJP to ensure his victory.
Reacting to this, Haryana BJP leaders accused Gandhi of making “baseless” allegations and undermining the people’s verdict.
Throughout the year, the Congress targeted the Nayab Saini government on various issues such as law and order, unemployment, MGNREGA, Aravalli, SYL, corruption and drugs.
Towards the end of the year, the opposition party submitted a motion of no confidence in the state parliament against the defeated government.
Gandhi’s visit to Haryana in June prompted the creation of the organizational structure of the party in the state, which had not had a formal structure for the last 11 years.
Haryana minister Anil Vij created a stir with his statement, accusing some people of running a “parallel BJP” in his constituency, Ambala Cantt, while also saying that he had the blessing of senior leaders.
But this wasn’t the first time the 72-year-old BJP veteran was so outspoken about anything that bothered him.
Less than a year after coming to power for the third consecutive term, the Saini government has implemented many poll promises, including the key ‘Deen Dayal Lado Lakshmi Yojana’, under which the government decided to release a consolidated amount (Rs 2,100 per month) to eligible beneficiaries on a quarterly basis.
As the year progressed, among other events, President Droupadi Murmu was seen flying a Rafale fighter jet sortie from the Indian Air Force Station in Ambala in October; he later described the experience as “unforgettable”.
The year also witnessed the swearing-in of Justice Surya Kant, who hails from Petwar village in Hisar district, as the 53rd Chief Justice of India and Ashim Kumar Ghosh (81) being sworn in as the new Governor of Haryana, replacing Bandaru Dattatraya.
Abhay Singh Chautala has been appointed as the national president of the Indian National Lok Dal.
Additionally, Hansi became the 23rd district of Haryana in December.
In November, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to the religious event held in Kurukshetra to mark the 350th martyrdom anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur and also attended the International Gita Festival.
