Panchkula, Haryana:
Nineteen years after his teenage daughter was molested by one of Haryana's senior-most policeman, Subhash Chandra Girhotra broke down as he recalled the courage of a young girl who dared to take on a powerful and ruthless opponent.
"My little girl is gone....nothing can bring her back,...but let no other child go through this " he says, weeping. This is the first time that Ruchika's father has spoken to the media since Monday's verdict, which sentenced SPS Rathore to six months in prison for molesting 14-year-old Ruchika. "I stayed underground because of fear of harassment," he explains. (Read: Rathore's smile frightens Ruchika's family)
Persecution has been a tough reality for the Girhotra family since Ruchika first accused Rathore of molesting her. She was a promising young tennis player, Rathore the President of the Haryana Lawn Tennis Association. Rathore called Ruchika and her friend, Aradhana Parkash, to his office. He sent Aradhana on an errand. When she returned, Aradhana saw Rathore molesting her best friend. (Read: Ruchika's family to NDTV: We need security)
The then Director General of Police in Haryana, RR Singh, recommended that a case be filed against Rathore. However, the government refused to sanction this case, so no action was taken. "He had the backing of Om Prakash Chautala," says Ruchika's father, a theory confirmed by many who knew Rathore professionally. On record, Chautala has denied this, and has said he would like to see a harsher sentence for Rathore. But the fact is that even after Ruchika killed herself in 1993, Rathore's career flourished. He went on to become Director General of the Haryana Police. (Read: Senior cop molested teen who killed herself)
What drove Ruchika to drink poison and kill herself? She was expelled from her school, strangers followed her family and warned them to drop their complaint against Rathore, her brother was framed for theft. The CBI, which took over the case in 2000, blames Rathore for this, saying that after her sexual abuse, Ruchika went into depression. (Read: Shock, anger over teen molestor's sentence)
Yet, the charges the CBI slapped against Rathore were weak - molestation, instead of tougher charges like abetment of suicide amounting to murder. (Read: Government protected Rathore?)
Forum: Is 6 months enough for such a crime? | Have a message for Aradhana?
"My little girl is gone....nothing can bring her back,...but let no other child go through this " he says, weeping. This is the first time that Ruchika's father has spoken to the media since Monday's verdict, which sentenced SPS Rathore to six months in prison for molesting 14-year-old Ruchika. "I stayed underground because of fear of harassment," he explains. (Read: Rathore's smile frightens Ruchika's family)
Persecution has been a tough reality for the Girhotra family since Ruchika first accused Rathore of molesting her. She was a promising young tennis player, Rathore the President of the Haryana Lawn Tennis Association. Rathore called Ruchika and her friend, Aradhana Parkash, to his office. He sent Aradhana on an errand. When she returned, Aradhana saw Rathore molesting her best friend. (Read: Ruchika's family to NDTV: We need security)
The then Director General of Police in Haryana, RR Singh, recommended that a case be filed against Rathore. However, the government refused to sanction this case, so no action was taken. "He had the backing of Om Prakash Chautala," says Ruchika's father, a theory confirmed by many who knew Rathore professionally. On record, Chautala has denied this, and has said he would like to see a harsher sentence for Rathore. But the fact is that even after Ruchika killed herself in 1993, Rathore's career flourished. He went on to become Director General of the Haryana Police. (Read: Senior cop molested teen who killed herself)
What drove Ruchika to drink poison and kill herself? She was expelled from her school, strangers followed her family and warned them to drop their complaint against Rathore, her brother was framed for theft. The CBI, which took over the case in 2000, blames Rathore for this, saying that after her sexual abuse, Ruchika went into depression. (Read: Shock, anger over teen molestor's sentence)
Yet, the charges the CBI slapped against Rathore were weak - molestation, instead of tougher charges like abetment of suicide amounting to murder. (Read: Government protected Rathore?)
Forum: Is 6 months enough for such a crime? | Have a message for Aradhana?
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