Rathore escapes arrest for now, gets interim bail

NEW DELHI: Disgraced former Haryana DGP S P S Rathore was on Friday granted interim bail until January 7 by the Panchkula district and sessions court in the two fresh cases registered against him in connection with the molestation of teenager Ruchika Girhotra.

The order was passed by District and Sessions Judge S P Singh after hearing Abha Rathore, the lawyer-wife of 67-year-old Rathore, and Pankaj Bharadwaj, counsel for the family of Ruchika who committed suicide three years after being molested by the former IPS officer.

While issuing notice to the state seeking a reply on the fresh charges against Rathore by January 6, the judge observed: “If the petitioner (Rathore) is arrested during this period, he will be released on interim bail.”
The cases will now be heard on January 7.

Ruchika’s lawyer, Mr Bharadwaj, on Friday said the interim bail at this stage was hardly a setback as the prosecution would be able to expose the truth regarding Rathore’s cover-up and oppose his bail plea at the next date of hearing.

During the hearing on Friday on Rathore’s bail plea, his wife and lawyer, Abha, countered the charges that her client had slapped false cases against Ruchika's brother, attempted to murder him and doctored the post-mortem report of the girl.

Rathore was sentenced to six months imprisonment and a fine of Rs 1000 by the trial court on December 21 for molesting Ruchika who later committed suicide following alleged harassment by him. Following public outrage over the light punishment handed out to Rathore, the Haryana police registered two fresh FIRs against Rathore for allegedly harassing Ruchika’s brother Ashu and tampering Ruchika’s autopsy report.

Subsequently, a third complaint charging Rathore under Section 306 (abetment to suicide) was also filed by Ruchika’s family.

While arguing on behalf of Rathore in the district and sessions court on Friday, his wife and lawyer Abha alleged that Girhotra, his son Ashu and the family of Anand Prakash were trying to become “heroes and heroines in the eyes of the public by “fabricating and interpolating facts.”

The charge under 306 IPC (abetment to suicide) being levelled now by Ruchika's brother has been settled at the level of the Supreme Court, she said and submitted a copy of the apex court judgement.

“After 16-17 years, the Girhotra and Parkash families are raising this issue,” she said, adding that the two fresh FIRs lodged this week against Rathore mostly had bailable offences, barring a few which are nor bailable.

Countering Abha Rathore's arguments, Girhotra family lawyer Pankaj Bhardwaj alleged outside the court: “To drive a girl to commit suicide after such an incident ...and after 9 years the FIR sees the light of the day, what kind of justice or system are you talking about?”

He told reporters that Rathore had allegedly "managed everything" with the help of the bureaucracy or the political set up.

Abha Rathore however claimed that “Anand Parkash had a bad service record,” and cited the corruption charges against him.

Referring to the role of former Ambala SP K P Singh, Abha said that the then district police chief, of which Panchkula was a part in the 1990s, had recorded his statement that Rathore was not his supervisory officer. “ASI Sewa Singh (another policeman named by the Girhotra family) never wrote on record that Rathore pressurised him or he had ever talked to him regarding this case,” she Abha also alleged that Ruchika may have been driven to suicide due to ill-treatment meted out to her by her purported step-mother.

Referring to a 2005 statement given by Ruchika’s father a day prior to her death, Abha recalled that he had spoken of having entered into a second marriage with a woman named Veena. “They (Girhotra and Veena) used to go out of home locking Ruchika at home,” she said adding that even a day prior to her death in 1993, they had gone to a temple and returned home late at night.

“Due to step-motherly treatment, Ashu lost moral control and he took to auto theft. Now they are making contrary statements regarding the existence of Veena,” she addeged.

Abha said that Ashu was not kept in illegal custody by the police (at Rathore's behest) as he was under legal confinement after registration of cases against him. She further added that contrary to claims by the Parkash and Girhotra families that Ruchika was expelled under Rathore's pressure, the school has made it clear that her name was struck off the rolls due to non-payment of fees for six months.