New Delhi:
It's the next big step in the Ruchika Girhotra case. Her brother, Ashu, has filed a new police complaint against the police officer who molested her in 1990 when she was 14. Ruchika killed herself three years later.
In the new complaint, Ashu Girhotra accuses SPS Rathore of driving Ruchika to commit suicide. Rathore, who was among Haryana's most senior policemen, allegedly harassed Ruchika and her family for three years to punish her for complaining against him. (Read: Ruchika believed justice will prevail: Ashu)
What Rathore has so far been convicted of is molesting the teenager. For that, he was sentenced earlier this month to six months in prison. The CBI, which prosecuted Rathore, is considering asking for the maximum punishment for molestation - two years in prison.
If the latest complaint against him, is accepted as a police case, Rathore faces ten years in prison if convicted of abetment to suicide.
Earlier this week, on her 16th death anniversary, Ruchika's family filed another two police cases against Rathore. A court will decide on Friday whether Rathore can be granted bail in these cases. He stands accused of fabricating documents on her post-mortem, as well as implicating Ashu in fake cases. Ashu was imprisoned for theft in 1993. By this time, Ruchika was unable to cope with the pressure of fighting Rathore. She drank poison. Ashu was released from prison immediately and was acquitted in all the cases against him.
In his affidavit, accusing Rathore of criminal conspiracy, Ashu states that he was tortured in jail on Rathore's orders.
'I was paraded in handcuffs in front of my house while police abused my sister,' he claims. On Thursday, he said Rathore would also often torture him personally.
Rathore's wife, a lawyer who is defending him in court, argued on Friday that the Supreme Court in 2001 had dismissed an earlier appeal by the Girhotras to charge her husband with abetment of suicide. She also said the fact that Ashu has taken more than a decade to formally accuse Rathore of harassment suggests that the charges are not true.
What the Girhotras want is a government-backed investigation against Rathore for abetment of suicide. The Law Minister has already said he believes this charge should apply, and is working with the CBI to prepare the grounds for it. Home Minister P Chidambaram has met Ruchika's father and says, "They told me they have filed 2 FIRs, one on Ashu's harassment, they said they are contemplating filing another FIR on abetment to suicide. And I said if this is done, we will certainly look into what the central government can do. Let them first file the FIR."
In the new complaint, Ashu Girhotra accuses SPS Rathore of driving Ruchika to commit suicide. Rathore, who was among Haryana's most senior policemen, allegedly harassed Ruchika and her family for three years to punish her for complaining against him. (Read: Ruchika believed justice will prevail: Ashu)
What Rathore has so far been convicted of is molesting the teenager. For that, he was sentenced earlier this month to six months in prison. The CBI, which prosecuted Rathore, is considering asking for the maximum punishment for molestation - two years in prison.
If the latest complaint against him, is accepted as a police case, Rathore faces ten years in prison if convicted of abetment to suicide.
Earlier this week, on her 16th death anniversary, Ruchika's family filed another two police cases against Rathore. A court will decide on Friday whether Rathore can be granted bail in these cases. He stands accused of fabricating documents on her post-mortem, as well as implicating Ashu in fake cases. Ashu was imprisoned for theft in 1993. By this time, Ruchika was unable to cope with the pressure of fighting Rathore. She drank poison. Ashu was released from prison immediately and was acquitted in all the cases against him.
In his affidavit, accusing Rathore of criminal conspiracy, Ashu states that he was tortured in jail on Rathore's orders.
'I was paraded in handcuffs in front of my house while police abused my sister,' he claims. On Thursday, he said Rathore would also often torture him personally.
Rathore's wife, a lawyer who is defending him in court, argued on Friday that the Supreme Court in 2001 had dismissed an earlier appeal by the Girhotras to charge her husband with abetment of suicide. She also said the fact that Ashu has taken more than a decade to formally accuse Rathore of harassment suggests that the charges are not true.
What the Girhotras want is a government-backed investigation against Rathore for abetment of suicide. The Law Minister has already said he believes this charge should apply, and is working with the CBI to prepare the grounds for it. Home Minister P Chidambaram has met Ruchika's father and says, "They told me they have filed 2 FIRs, one on Ashu's harassment, they said they are contemplating filing another FIR on abetment to suicide. And I said if this is done, we will certainly look into what the central government can do. Let them first file the FIR."
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