India's Ruchika: Fight for justice

Nineteen years ago, in 1990, 14-year-old Ruchika Girohtra was molested by former Haryana DGP SPS Rathore. It was through the tennis circuit in their home town that Ruchika and her friend, Aradhana Parkash, met Rathore.

Ruchika was a promising young tennis player; Rathore, the President of Haryana's Lawn Tennis Federation.(NDTV photo)

On that fateful day, Rathore sent Aradhana on an errand. When she returned, she found Rathore molesting her best friend.

SPS Rathore was an Inspector General in the Haryana Police; 14-year-old Ruchika Girhotra filed a case against him, claiming that he molested her. It was a bold step, and the repercussions seemed endless.

Two weeks after an inquiry indicted Rathore, Ruchika was expelled from school for 'indiscipline'. Three years later, her brother was arrested for multiple cases of theft - just one example, her family alleged, of the police exacting revenge. Ruchika killed herself by drinking poison in 1993. She was 17. Immediately after her death, the cases against her brother were dropped. The Girotras left Chandigarh. (NDTV photo)

After 19 long years, Rathore was sentenced to all of six months in jail. What's worse, he also got bail right away.

Many termed the verdict as a national shame. But amid that outrage is Rathore, seen here relaxing in the sun, almost oblivious to the travesty of justice.

The CBI took over Ruchika's case in 2000. It filed its chargesheet against Rathore within 11 months on the complaint of Parkash, Aradhana's father.

Investigating officials say Rathore delayed the trial by managing to get it transferred thrice. It moved from CBI courts in Ambala to Patiala and finally to Chandigarh, where, on December 21, Rathore was given six months in prison.

Nineteen years after his teenage daughter was molested by one of Haryana's senior-most policeman, Subhash Chandra Girhotra breaks down as he recalls 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. (NDTV Photo)

After Ruchika's death, Aradhana, a witness to the molestation, fought on. For 19 years, she fought in courts and government offices to ensure that the case was not buried. Even after getting married and moving to Australia, she would fly home for important hearings.

Aradhana's parents, Anand and Madhu Prakash, say they now want people to rally behind them and work to re-open the case as it was done in the Priyadarshani Mattoo and Jessica Lal cases.

Abha Rathore, wife and counsel for former Haryana DGP, SPS Rathore, has now said, the fresh FIRs had been registered because of media hype and that there was no evidence that Ruchika's brother Ashu was tortured or harassed.

Pankaj Bharadwaj, the Girhotras' lawyer said all charges by Abha Rathore were false and that the Rathores got Ruchika's inquest report fudged.

Amidst the uproar over the Ruchika molestation issue, Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Saturday said the entire case against Rathore should be revisited.

The Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni urged the CBI to look into the case properly so that officers get the message that noone can get away.

Home Minister P Chidambaram met with Ruchika's father and lawyer and said he was unhappy with the way charges were framed and the trial was conducted.

After 19 years of untold trauma, Ruchika's family members are finally speaking out against former Haryana DGP SPS Rathore.

As a mark of protest against the quantum of sentence pronounced by a CBI court, Ruchika's friend Aradhana Gupta, along with Ruchika's father, formed a human chain in Chandigarh, demanding harsher punishment for Rathore.(NDTV Photo)

SPS Rathore currently has three police cases against him, all filed by Ruchika's friends and family. A court in Panchkula, Haryana, has dismissed his bail plea. This means that Rathore can now be arrested and the CBI can now ask for his custody. (NDTV Photo)