Chandigarh:
Her school's decision to expel Ruchika Girhotra was "malafide, biased, unwarranted and indiscriminate." That's the conclusion of a formal inquiry by the Chandigarh administration. The school, according to the report, also acted under "an outside influence." (Read: Full report)
The 14-year-old who was molested by a police officer in Haryana was expelled by her school in 1990. Ruchika's expulsion humiliated and isolated her days after she reported that SPS Rathore, an Inspector General had molested her. Her depression grew as Rathore harassed her family for the next three years, and in 1993, she killed herself.
Ruchika's school, the Sacred Heart Convent in Chandigarh, had denied that it expelled Ruchika under pressure from Rathore. It said her name was taken off the school rolls because she had not paid her fees for several months.
Reacting to the inquiry by the Chandigarh administration, the school administration has said that it has not singled out anyone. The school also said it won't succumb to any kind of pressure on the issue.
Father Thomas of the Shimla-Chandigarh Diocese who has been speaking on behalf of Ruchika's school said he would not comment till he's seen the report, but in his opinion the school had followed the rule-book.
In a severe indictment of the school, the government inquiry shows there were a whopping hundred students who had failed to pay their fees on time, but Ruchika was singled out. Among the other defaulters - Rathore's own daughter. The inquiry say the school's authorities "acted under some outside influence...in selectively applying rules" to her. It concludes that the school is to blame for "scarring her impressionable mind."
Rathore, who retired as the Haryana police chief in 2002, has been sentenced to six months in prison for molesting her. That verdict, in December 2009, incensed legal experts and caused national outrage. In the last few days, Rathore has been charged with abetment of suicide.
The indictment of the school helps Ruchika's family as it tries to prove in court that Rathore used his office to persecute Ruchika, her brother, Ashu, and her father after she complained against him. Ashu was framed in several cases of theft and sent to prison. In a new police case, he has accused Rathore of torturing him in jail, and of wrongful confinement.
A court will decide on Friday whether to grant bail to Rathore in that case filed against him by Ashu Girhotra. But it's the other case - where he's charged with driving Ruchika to suicide - that is doubtless Rathore's main concern. It's a non-bailable offence, it's likely to be investigated by the CBI, and, if convicted, Raothre faces upto ten years in prison.
The 14-year-old who was molested by a police officer in Haryana was expelled by her school in 1990. Ruchika's expulsion humiliated and isolated her days after she reported that SPS Rathore, an Inspector General had molested her. Her depression grew as Rathore harassed her family for the next three years, and in 1993, she killed herself.
Ruchika's school, the Sacred Heart Convent in Chandigarh, had denied that it expelled Ruchika under pressure from Rathore. It said her name was taken off the school rolls because she had not paid her fees for several months.
Reacting to the inquiry by the Chandigarh administration, the school administration has said that it has not singled out anyone. The school also said it won't succumb to any kind of pressure on the issue.
Father Thomas of the Shimla-Chandigarh Diocese who has been speaking on behalf of Ruchika's school said he would not comment till he's seen the report, but in his opinion the school had followed the rule-book.
In a severe indictment of the school, the government inquiry shows there were a whopping hundred students who had failed to pay their fees on time, but Ruchika was singled out. Among the other defaulters - Rathore's own daughter. The inquiry say the school's authorities "acted under some outside influence...in selectively applying rules" to her. It concludes that the school is to blame for "scarring her impressionable mind."
Rathore, who retired as the Haryana police chief in 2002, has been sentenced to six months in prison for molesting her. That verdict, in December 2009, incensed legal experts and caused national outrage. In the last few days, Rathore has been charged with abetment of suicide.
The indictment of the school helps Ruchika's family as it tries to prove in court that Rathore used his office to persecute Ruchika, her brother, Ashu, and her father after she complained against him. Ashu was framed in several cases of theft and sent to prison. In a new police case, he has accused Rathore of torturing him in jail, and of wrongful confinement.
A court will decide on Friday whether to grant bail to Rathore in that case filed against him by Ashu Girhotra. But it's the other case - where he's charged with driving Ruchika to suicide - that is doubtless Rathore's main concern. It's a non-bailable offence, it's likely to be investigated by the CBI, and, if convicted, Raothre faces upto ten years in prison.
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