Panchkula:
No bail yet for teen-molester-cop SPS Rathore.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court was meant to decide on Monday whether to agree to Rathore's requests for anticipatory bail in two new police cases filed against him. In a third case, Rathore had asked that the charges of abetment to suicide that he faces be dropped by the court.
The court has said it will decide on these issues next Monday. It's waiting for the CBI, which is investigating Rathore, to present its case against the man who retired as Haryana's most senior police officer in 2002.
Rathore, in 1990, molested 14-year-old Ruchika Girhotra. After Ruchika complained against him, Rathore allegedly used his position as a senior police officer in Haryana to harass her family and her. Her brother, Ashu, was framed in theft cases, and imprisoned. Ruchika committed suicide in 1993.
In December, a court sentenced Rathore to six months in prison for molesting Ruchika. After that, her family and friends filed three new cases against him. He's been accused of fabricating documents related to Ruchika's post-mortem, and of criminal conspiracy to keep her brother in jail. The most serious case against him accuses him of driving Ruchika to her suicide.
The Haryana Police has handed over all three new cases to the CBI. Technically, the CBI is free to arrest Rathore, but sources say they're working on building a strong case against him.
Rathore is being defended in court by his wife, Abha.