'Rathore should not be treated as an ordinary accused'

Deeply hurt by the Supreme Court order granting bail to SPS Rathore, Ruchika's father S C Girhotra on Thursday said the disgraced former Haryana director general of police should not have been treated as an 'ordinary accused' and feared for his family's safety after his release.

"I am deeply hurt. I believe that no leniency should have been shown to Rathore and he should not have been treated as an ordinary accused," an emotionally-charged Girhotra told PTI, minutes after the apex court granted bail to Rathore.

Ruchika, 14, a budding tennis player, had committed suicide three years after being molested by Rathore on August 12, 1990. Girhotra said he feared for his family's safety once 68-year-old Rathore was out of the jail.

"We are feeling insecure," he said, adding that Rathore deserves "exemplary punishment."

"He should not have been treated as an ordinary accused as he had been held guilty of molesting a 14-year-old girl. He was an inspector general of police rank officer (in 1990) when he committed the crime. "No leniency should be shown. Being an IG, he should have acted as protector of children, but instead he himself committed the crime," he said.

Girhotra said the granting of bail is 'unfortunate' at a time when the government is talking of tougher laws to bring to justice those who are held guilty of crime against children, particularly those relating to sexual harassment. "Nobody from the government came forward to ensure that Rathore is not granted any reprieve," he said.

Rathore has been serving the 18-month jail term in Burail jail in Chandigarh since May 25 after his punishment was enhanced by a sessions court. The Punjab and Haryana high court had on September 1 dismissed Rathore's appeal challenging his conviction and the sentence, saying his conduct as a top official was 'shameful'.

The Supreme Court granted bail to Rathore a day after the Central Bureau of Investigation filed a closure report in two of the three fresh cases registered against the former DGP, following allegations by Girhotra and his son Ashu in December last year.

The two cases involve doctoring of the post-mortem report filed by S C Girhotra, and a torture case filed by Ashu. Commenting on the CBI's closure report, Girhotra said that 'it was a unilateral action' taken by the premier investigating agency.

"Nobody from the CBI met me during the past 5-6 months. They never discussed anything with me and never told me that they were going to file the report," he said.

He said the CBI should have given him an opportunity to explain his position, which he claimed was not done. "Now, I will discuss with my lawyer and accordingly we will decide what step to take (on the closure report)," Girhotra said.