CHANDIGARH: Former Haryana DGP
S P S Rathore was thrown behind bars on Tuesday, 20 years after he molested
14-year-old Ruchika Girhotra and artfully dodged the judicial system using his
office and khaki intimidation, ending in the teenager committing suicide just
three years later.
The Chandigarh district court dismissed his appeal against his conviction and
enhanced his sentence from six months to one-and-a-half years.
Amid high drama, Rathore was whisked away by CBI officers to the Burail Model
Jail after the verdict, where he was frisked like an ordinary convict. Jail
officials said he was strip-searched for concealed weapons and his necktie,
wristwatch, sunglasses and wallet were handed over to his wife, Abha, who was
his counsel during the hearing.
Rathore, who retired in 2002, nine years after the young tennis player took her
life, was put in Barrack number 10, meant for undertrials and convicted police
officers, to segregate them from other criminals.