As Anand Parkash kept knocking on the doors of justice, S.P.S Rathore, who was inspector general of police when he molested 14-year-old Ruchika, rose to become the topmost police officer in Haryana.
“I was demoted on flimsy grounds while the accused, S.P.S. Rathore, was awarded with two
promotions — one as ADGP (additional director general of police) and the other as DGP,” said Parkash (67), a former government official.
It was Parkash and his wife Madhu who followed up the case when Ruchika’s father and brother, who were allegedly harassed by the police, had given up and left the city.
Parkash alleged that besides facing threats, he was also was given pre-mature retirement after being demoted to the post of superintending engineer from the post of chief engineer that he held in the Haryana State Agriculture Marketing Board, on the behest of Rathore.
The fight for justice was not personal but for society “so that no other person dares commit such an inhumane act”, he said.
Parkash, who has also filed a case against his pre-mature retirement, had to attend around 300 hearings in Ambala and more than 100 hearings at Patiala, besides visits to the high court and Supreme Court.
However, many people, including bureaucrats, came forward to help with “financial and moral support”, Madhu said. Their counsel Pankaj Bhardwaj did not charge any fees.
Parkash now wants to expose the people who allegedly helped Rathore in trying to hush up the molestation and delay proceedings in the case.
“My parents were not fighting the battle for just Ruchika,” said Aradhana, who had witnessed Rathore molest her friend Ruchika. “It was a fight for society to give a message that even people like top cops cannot escape after committing a crime.”