On Ruchika’s 16th death anniversary, government says case to be re-probed (Roundup)

CHANDIGARH/PANCHKULA/NEW DELHI - As support built up for Ruchika Girhotra’s case on her 16th death anniversary Tuesday and appeals grew for convicted former Haryana top cop S.P.S. Rathore to be slapped with more serious charges, the government said the molestation and suicide of the teenager would be reinvestigated.

Law Minister M. Veerappa Moily said the molestation of Ruchika and her suicide three years later would be re-investigated and tried as a “model case” to demonstrate that nobody can “subvert the rule of law”.

“This could be a model case, where we will have to demonstrate to the entire country that the rule of law is utmost and it will apply to everybody and rule will have to be properly demonstrated - that is the will power of the nation,” Moily told private news channel NDTV.

Moily also said the accused should be tried for abetment to suicide of a minor, which could attract more serious punishment.

Ruchika’s death anniversary also saw prayers and support coming for her and petitions moved at different forums to get the case against Rathore re-opened.

Her closest friend, Aradhana and her family led a peace march to the house in Panchkula where the teenager had committed suicide 16 years ago, unable to cope with the constant harassment and torture inflicted on her and her family by Rathore.

The National Commission for Women (NCW) chairperson Girija Vyas appealed to the central and Haryana governments to slap serious charges against Rathore.

“We have asked the union home ministry and the Haryana government to slap serious charges - abetment to suicide, attempt to murder, conspiracy and destroying evidence - against Rathore,” Vyas told reporters in New Delhi.

The home ministry had Saturday slapped show cause notices on Rathore.

Rathore was sentenced by a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court Dec 21 to six months in jail for molesting teenager Ruchika 19 years ago on Aug 12, 1990. A fine of Rs.1,000 was also imposed on Rathore. He was, however, immediately granted bail.

In Panchkula, near Chandigarh, two fresh police complaints were submitted on behalf of Ruchika’s father and brother, S.C. Girhotra and Ashu, to the district police chief seeking registration of a case against Rathore and other police officers for slapping false theft cases on Ashu and torturing him in the early 1990s.

“In Ashu’s plea, we have complained about his illegal arrest, inhuman torture and how police pressurised him to force Ruchika to take back her complaint against Rathore. We have mentioned the names of S.P.S. Rathore and four-five other officials in the complaint,” Pankaj Bhardwaj, the lawyer fighting the molestation case, told IANS.

“S.C. Girhotra’s complaint is also against the same officials. We have apprised police about how Rathore and his men doctored Ruchika’s post-mortem report and inquest proceedings reports. Rathore illegitimately used his power and position to manipulate these reports,” he added.

Panchkula Superintendent of Police Maneesh Chaudhary said he had received the complaint and that appropriate action would be taken after examining it.

Aradhana, the lone eyewitness to Ruchika’s molestation, was carrying a big photograph of Ruchika and a greeting card dedicated to her. The marchers lit an earthen lamp outside house number 363, Sector 6 here, where Ruchika consumed poison Dec 28, 1993, three years after her molestation.

Aradhana said the online signature campaign she launched Monday for reopening of the case was getting very good response and “we have also got hundreds of e-mails in support of this cause. We will not step back from here and would certainly convince the court for reopening of the case and to add the charge of abetment to suicide against Rathore.”

A public interest litigation (PIL) was Tuesday filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court in Chandigarh seeking a “fresh case” against Rathore and asking that he be tried for abetment to suicide of a minor as well.

Senior lawyer and human rights activist Ranjan Lakhanpal, who filed the PIL, said that a fresh case was being sought against Rathore under Section 305 of the Indian Penal Code (abetment of suicide of a minor) as Ruchika Girhotra, whom he was accused of sexually molesting, was a minor when the incident happened.

Section 305 has harsher punishment, including death penalty or life imprisonment, if the offender abets the suicide of a minor or insane person.

In the PIL, Lakhanpal also sought strict action against the management of the Sacred Heart School in Sector 26, where Ruchika was a student, for expelling the teenager on illogical grounds and also against the officials who favoured Rathore and delayed the trial for 19 years.

“I have appealed to the high court to register a case against Rathore for implicating Ashu (Ruchika’s brother) in 11 cases of theft and illegally detaining him and torturing him for two months,” said Lakhanpal.

The Chandigarh administration has initiated a magisterial inquiry into the role of a leading all girls school, Sacred Heart, here for expelling teenage molestation victim Ruchika Girhotra in September 1990.

Ruchika was expelled from the school when she was in Class 10 for unexplained reasons just a month after she was molested by Rathore.