CBI, Ruchika’s brother keep Rathore on edge

SPS Rathore was in deep trouble on Thursday when an abetment to suicide complaint was filed against the ex-Haryana DGP in a fresh FIR by the molesation victim's brother who alleged he was subjected to third degree police torture that drove her to take the extreme step, report HT Correspondents.

The Central Bureau of Investigation has decided to appeal for a stiffer sentence for former Haryana Police chief S.P.S. Rathore in the Ruchika molestation case.

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Rathore was sentenced to six months in jail by a CBI court on December 21 for molesting 14-year-old Ruchika Girhotra in Chandigarh in 1990. The maximum punishment for the crime is two years’ imprisonment.

CBI spokesman Harsh Bal said in New Delhi on Thursday the agency was also examining the applicability of section 306 of the Indian Penal Code pertaining to abetment of suicide.

Ruchika’s family has alleged she was driven to suicide following her expulsion from school and after her brother was tortured and implicated in false cases by the police at Rathore’s behest. They said all this was done to mount pressure on Ruchika to withdraw her complaint against Rathore.

In Panchkula, adjoining Chandigarh, Ruchika’s brother Ashu submitted a fresh complaint against Rathore and others, alleging that they abetted her suicide.

A day after meeting Ruchika’s family members P. Chidambaram said in New Delhi, “As Home Minister, I cannot pronounce any judgment. I am very unhappy with the way the charges were framed and the way the trial was conducted and the way the accused has been punished.”