Zeenews Bureau
Chandigarh: The noose tightened on disgraced ex Haryana DGP SPS Rathore, convicted for molestation of 14-year-old Ruchika Girhotra, with Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Monday recommending the stripping of the police gold medal awarded to him.
In a letter to Union Home Minister P Chidambaram, Hooda urged that the prestigious medal awarded to Rathore be taken back. The Haryana CM also demanded that other such medals given to police officials - who attempted to misguide the investigations in into the case be also taken back.
Rathore, a 1965-batch IPS officer, who retired in 2002, was awarded the Police Medal for Meritorious Service on August 15, 1985.
Hooda’s recommendation comes on a day when the Home Secretary GK Pillai is scheduled to chair a meeting with the central police medal awards committee to come to a decision on the issue. The ministry may also reduce his pension benefits.
The recommendation report of the committee will then be sent to President Pratibha Patil for approval.
Rathore was convicted to six months imprisonment this month for molesting Ruchika, a 14-year-old budding tennis player, in 1990. Ruchika had later committed suicide.
