Senior cop molested teen who killed herself
December 21, 2009
A man who retired as one of Haryana's most senior policemen has been
sentenced to six months in prison for molesting a teenager in 1990. The victim
killed herself three years later.
SPS Rathore was an Inspector General in the Haryana Police; 14-year-old Ruchika
Girhotra filed a case against him, claiming that he molested her. It was a bold
step, and the repercussions seemed endless.
Two weeks after an inquiry indicted Rathore, Ruchika was expelled from school
for 'indiscipline'. Three years later, her brother was arrested for multiple
cases of theft - just one example, her family alleged, of the police exacting
revenge. Ruchika killed herself by drinking poison in 1993. She was 17.
Immediately after her death, the cases against her brother were dropped. The
Girotras left Chandigarh.
It was through the tennis circuit in their home town that Ruchika and her
friend, Aradhana Parkash, met SPS Rathore. Ruchika was a promising young tennis
player; Rathore, the President of Haryana's Lawn Tennis Federation.
After Ruchika's death, Aradhana, who says she was an eyewitness to Ruchika's
sexual abuse, decided she needed to do more. Rathore's professional life had
suffered no setback despite his indictment. So she helped to fight for - and
win - a CBI inquiry against Rathore in 2000. It was a hollow victory - the
charges against Rathore were of molestation; Ruchika's friends and family wanted
him to be accused of abetment to suicide amounting to murder.
And now, Rathore's six-month sentence seems like a travesty of justice. He has
already been granted bail and says he will appeal against this verdict.
Courtesy: http://www.ndtv.com/news/india/verdict_in_ruchika_molestation_case_today.php