Chandigarh: The CBI on Friday began formal interactions with the father of Ruchika, who was molested by former Haryana DGP SPS Rathore, and all others connected directly or indirectly with the case which took place 19 years back at Panchkula.
The CBI team of the Special Crime Branch (SCB), New Delhi
started the interaction at its camp office in Sector 18 here
with Anand Parkash, father of Aradhna, the sole eye witness to
the molestation case.
He is also the husband of Madhu Parkash the complainant
in the case in which Rathore was recently awarded six months
imprisonment and fined Rs 1,000 by a CBI court here.
Anand Parkash told a news agency that the CBI team had called him as they wanted to acquaint themselves with the case. "But I
will be taking along with me records relating to the case for
submission to the team which is also expected to record my
statement," he added.
Aradhna, the sole eye witness, told the agency that she had not
yet been called by the CBI team.
Besides Anand Parkash, Ruchika`s father Subhash Chander
Girhotra also met the CBI team to provide details of the case
to the officials.
The CBI had on January 12 taken over the three fresh FIRs
against disgraced former DGP of Haryana lodged by Girhotra
and his son Ashu leveling various allegations, including attempt to murder, abetment to suicide and doctoring the post mortem report and other documents.
After the conviction of Rathore by a CBI court here last
month, the Haryana Police had registered three fresh FIRs
against Rathore, two of which were transferred to the seven
member Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by IGP
(Security) S S Kapoor.
The FIRs transferred to the SIT were registered on the
complaints of Ruchika`s father and brother leveling series
criminal charges, including attempt to murder, wrong
confinement, causing disappearance of evidence and doctoring
the post mortem report.
The third FIR against Rathore charging him under Section
306 IPC (abetment to suicide) was registered on January 5. The
earlier two FIRs were registered on December 29.
The other accused in the three FIRs were then Ambala
Superintendent of Police KP Singh, Sub Inspector Prem Dutt
and Assistant Sub Inspectors Jai Narayan and Sewa Singh.
The Haryana Police SIT had handed over to the CBI all the
documents, including the statements of some of those
associated with the three cases in one way or the other
besides the record available with them.
68-year-old Rathore was convicted last month for having
molested the budding 14-year-old tennis player here on August
12, 1990. Ruchika committed suicide three years later in
December 1993.
Punjab and Haryana High Court had earlier this week
issued notices to the CBI for January 18 on two petitions of
Rathore seeking anticipatory bail in the first two FIRs and
the third petition seeking quashing of the third FIR charging
him under section 306 IPC, saying the issue had been settled
at the level of the Supreme Court.
PTI
