Bihar Police: Officer’s Harassment Leads to Constable’s Suicide, Husband Reveals Story of Depression

Constable Archana Kumar’s file photo.
★Photo: Amar Ujala

News Summary:

• A policewoman, Archana Kumar, was found hanging from a noose in the patrol room of the 112 police team in Samastipur district.
• The police discovered a suicide note written by the constable, in which she mentioned harassment by her husband and pressure to vacate the official quarters.
• Archana Kumar was identified as the wife of Suman Kumar from Sisarsarai in the district, who is also a constable in the Samastipur district police.
• Archana Kumar had been suspended from duty due to negligence in her work.

On Wednesday night, the body of Constable Archana Kumar (batch of 2018), who was on duty in the 112 police team of Samastipur district, was found hanging from a noose. The discovery of the policewoman’s body caused a stir in the police headquarters. The woman constable was taken to the Sadar Hospital in critical condition, where doctors declared her dead. The deceased constable was identified as the wife of Suman Kumar from Sisarsarai in the district, who is also serving as a constable in the Samastipur district police. She had been suspended from duty due to negligence in her work.

The police also found a suicide note in two pages at the crime scene. In the note, she mentioned suffering from depression due to her husband’s suspension and the pressure to vacate the official quarters. The police have taken custody of the constable’s body and started the postmortem process. The deceased constable had three children. Besides the SDPO Sanjay Kumar Pandey, DSP Amit Kumar and SP Vinay Tiwari also visited the Sadar Hospital upon receiving the information. The SDPO stated that the woman constable committed suicide by hanging herself. The incident is being investigated.

The suspended constable, Suman Kumar, who was a member of the district Hawks team, had faced disciplinary action two months ago for negligence in his work. Suman used to live in the government quarter in the Samastipur Police Lines with his wife Archana and their three children. After the suspension, an order was issued to vacate the quarter through the Police Lines. Suman had already vacated the quarter and was living in another quarter where he was facing difficulties with the children. He had been continuously meeting senior officers regarding the revocation of his suspension, but his requests were not heard. Suman stated that his wife Archana was suffering from depression due to the departmental harassment, which led her to take her own life.

The police have also recovered a two-page suicide note at the crime scene, in which Archana apologizes to her parents and seeks forgiveness from her husband and mother-in-law. The note discusses the false report filed against her husband by a sergeant, which led to his suspension. The SDPO, Sanjay Pandey, stated that the incident is tragic and that a thorough investigation will be conducted into the entire matter, including the allegations made by the constable against senior officers.