Ruchika's family to file fresh case over abetment to suicide

CHANDIGARH: The family of molestation victim Ruchika Girhotra today appeared to be aggrieved at CBI's "compromise" in exclusion of abetment to suicide charge against former Haryana DGP SPS Rathore and said it would file a fresh complaint for its inclusion.

"We will file a fresh case for inclusion of Section 306 of the IPC (abetment to suicide)...the CBI earlier did not press for the inclusion of this section which could have resulted in a tougher sentence to the accused. I do not know why they made this compromise," Ruchika's father S C Girhotra told reporters here.

Rathore was convicted by a CBI court here in the molestation case and awarded a six-month jail sentence.

Meanwhile, their counsel Pankaj Bhardwaj said he had no knowledge about the woman Veena Girhotra, whose signature figures in the witness column in the inquest proceedings which were carried out after Ruchika's suicide.

"I have no clue who this woman is. I never met her nor did she ever come to my office. Over the years I have only known Ruchika's brother Ashoo, Mr Girhotra and the Prakash family, who took up the cudgels to fight the case," Bhardwaj maintained.

The lawyer suspected foul play in the inquest report of the teenager which blamed her death to excessive use of slimming pills.