New Delhi: Uproar over the light sentence
given to a former Haryana top cop convicted of molesting a
14-year-old girl who later committed suicide intensified today
with the Union Home Ministry considering stripping him of
Police Medal and reducing pension even as pressure mounted for
enhancing his sentence.
The ministry is contemplating sending show cause notices
to former DGP S P S Rathore asking why he should not be
stripped off of his police medal awarded in 1985 and his
pensionary benefits sliced since his conduct was unbecoming of
a senior IPS officer.
Rathore was on Monday sentenced to six months rigorous
imprisonment for molesting Ruchika, a budding tennis player,
in 1990 when he was Inspector General of Police.
Highly-placed sources said the ministry may advise the
Haryana government to initiate an internal probe to find out
who helped Rathore in trying to scuttle the judicial process
in the case.
Law Minister Veerappa Moily said the 19-year delay
was "unpardonable". The minister said he had discussed the
case with the CBI and the Solicitor General of India but was
non-committal on whether it will be reopened.
Haryana's top politicians, who have been accused of
being indulgent towards Rathore, washed their hands off
blaming each other for shielding him.
Refuting charges of protecting Rathore in the
molestation case, former Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash
Chautala blamed his successors Bhajan Lal and Bansi Lal for
not acting against the police officer.
A day after Ruchika's father, S C Girhotra accused
Chautala and successive governments of protecting Rathore,
the Haryana politician said his government had, on the
contrary, acted against the police officer.
"We took strong action against him. During my
government (in 1990), we instituted a departmental inquiry
against him. In my tenure later, we suspended him from the
post of DGP as he was facing chargesheet in the case. He
(Rathore) was promoted to the post of ADGP and DGP during the
governments of Bhajan Lal and Bansi Lal. They should be blamed
for the promotion," he told reporters here.
Rubbishing the charge, Bhajan Lal said it was Chautala
who had promoted Rathore.
Bhajan Lal's son Kuldeep Bishnoi said the case can be
reopened and it will become clear which politician shielded
Rathore.
Rathore, a 1965-batch IPS officer who retired in 2002
was awarded the Police Medal for Meritorious service on August
15, 1985.
Ruchika committed suicide in 1993 by consuming poison.
She was expelled from her school and false cases were
slapped against her brother, her family said.
Her father wants that Rathore be punished for
abetment to suicide under Sec.305 of the IPC which entails
death penalty, life imprisonment or a jail term upto 10 years.
PTI
First Published: Saturday, December 26, 2009, 08:45