Panchkula, January 05: Six years after the CBI dropped abetment to suicide complaint against former DGP SPS Rathore in the Ruchika molestation case, Haryana Police on Tuesday slapped a fresh charge of abetment to suicide against him in the Ruchika molestation case.
The fresh first information report (FIR) charges the former director general of police under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code for abetting the suicide of Ruchika in 1993, three years after he had molested her, police officials told PTI.
Ruchika, who was molested by Rathore here Aug 12, 1990, when she was just over 15 years old, had committed suicide Dec 28, 1993 by consuming a poisonous insecticide.
The disgraced former Haryana DGP has been accused of torturing Ruchika’s brother by getting false cases of car theft slapped on him, inflicting third-degree torture on him in police custody and harassing the Girhotra family between 1990 and 1993.
All this reportedly led to Ruchika finally committing suicide in December 1993.
The FIR has been filed after Ruchika’s brother Ashu had filed a fresh complaint last week seeking that Rathore be booked for abetment of suicide of his sister.
Rathore has also been booked in two other counts too, including the non-bailable charge of attempt to murder. Rathore was on Dec 21, 2009, sentenced to six months in jail and Rs.1,000 fine for Ruchika’s molestation 19 years ago, evoking widespread protests over what people called a light punishment.
Yesterday, the Union government had recommended withdrawal of police medal given to Rathore and announced that any police officer convicted for “moral turpitude” or bringing “disrepute or disrespect” to the service will be stripped of awards.
The recommendation will now be sent to President Pratibha Patil. The former police chief, who was given a show-cause notice last week by the Home Ministry, was awarded the medal Aug 15, 1985.
The Centre has already recommended the state government to freeze Rathore’s pension. In a letter to Union Home Minister P Chidambaram, Hooda had said Rathore has brought “disrepute and bad name” to the state and the police force.
The letter also mentioned “moral turpitude” on the part of Rathore in the case.
The fresh FIR comes soon after Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda pressed the Special Investigation Team (SIT). The SIT will subsequently recommend to the state government to hand over the three cases to the CBI as demanded by the family of Madhu Parkash, the complainant and the Girhotra family, the SP said. Welcoming the registration of the third FIR, Aradhana, Ruchika’s friend and the only witness to the molestation, hoped that “justice will be served in future. I am happy that the inquiry might now be marked to CBI.
Ruchika’s father SC Girhotra and the Anand Prakash family has alleged that Rathore had used his clout at every step to fabricate and tamper facts in his favour.
“We want the investigating agencies to be completed in a time-bound manner. We are confident that justice will finally be done,” said Anand Prakash, Aradhna’s father.
Sources in the Haryana police have said that Rathore could be arrested anytime now.
-Agencies