E-Paper
Former DGP convicted for molesting teenager
Nineteen years and 400 hearings. That’s what it took for justice to catch up with former Haryana Director General of Police SPS Rathore, who was convicted by a Chandigarh court on Monday for molesting 14-year-old Ruchika Girhotra, a budding tennis player. Sanjay Mehta reports.
Nineteen years and 400 hearings. That’s what it took for justice to catch up with former Haryana Director General of Police S.P.S. Rathore, who was convicted by a Chandigarh court on Monday for molesting 14-year-old Ruchika Girhotra, a budding tennis player.
CBI Special Magistrate JS Sidhu held Rathore guilty of outraging the modesty of Ruchika, who committed suicide nearly four years after being molested by Rathore, and sentenced him to six months in jail. The court, which also imposed a fine of Rs 1,000 on Rathore, later released him on bail.
He can file an appeal before a higher court within a month.
The decision was pronounced in a closed courtroom in the presence of a large number of relatives and supporters of Madhu Parkash, the complainant, and some of Rathore’s acquaintances. CBI Special Counsel CS Sharma said the evidence submitted by Ruchika’s father SC Girhotra had substantiated the fact that Rathore had visited his house and asked him to send Ruchika to him the next day.
Ruchika’s friend Aradhana Parkash, who had accompanied her to Rathore’s home, stated that she had witnessed Rathore holding Ruchika’s waist. When they left the place, Rathore told Aradhana to “ask her (Ruchika) to calm down; I will do whatever she says”.
The defence counsel questioned the motives of the complainant.
“Even Girhotra (the victim’s father) had stated in court that Madhu Parkash did not consult him for any advice before
filing a writ petition in the high court for registration of a case,” said the defence counsel.
Claiming that Rathore had been framed, the defence counsel held that Madhu’s husband Anand had filed a complaint against him at the instance of some bureaucrats and senior police officers.
Madhu and Anand Parkash said the decision had come too late and the sentence was too light.
Rathore said he would appeal before a higher court and “truth would prevail”.
