Ruchika Paid With Life To Uphold Honour Of Other Girls, Says Friend Aradhana

Welcoming the fresh FIR against former DGP SPS Rathore for abetment to suicide, Ruchika's friend and sole witness to the molestation, Aradhana said the victim paid with her life so that no other girl goes through the same ordeal.

"She (Ruchika) paid with her life, wanting that no other girl has to ever go through what she had to face. She had lost her faith in the system. After the incident, she could not take the harassment and torture which she and her family had to go through," Aradhna said in Panchkula.

She said her own family (the Prakashs') decided to wage a fight so that justice was done and added that the efforts got overwhelming media and public support.

"The patience, courage, support from my parents and the media through which we managed to get huge public support all have played a role in this fight. We want Rathore and other culprits behind bars now and expect a fair trial," said Aradhna.

"It's been 16 years that we wanted this charge (Sec 306-abetment to suicide) against Rathore. There were times when we were disappointed, but we decided to keep the fight on.... I am happy that the inquiry might now be given to CBI," she said.

Aradhna thanked Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda for keeping his promise that complaint under Section 306 of the IPC may be registered against Rathore.

Ruchika's father S C Girhotra and the Anand Prakash family has alleged that Rathore had used his clout at every step to fabricate and tamper facts in his favour.

"We want the investigating agencies to complete their process in a time-bound manner. We are confident that justice will finally be done," said Anand Prakash, Aradhna's father.

Lawyer for the Girhotra family Pankaj Bharadwaj said the complaint under section 306 IPC was filed a couple of days ago and the Haryana Chief Minister had then said that the police was seeking legal opinion on it.

"I am happy that after considering everything they have got it registered. We had given them all the documents on the basis of which the legal machinery has started working," he said.

"The Union Government is also pushing the case to ensure that nothing like this happens again. By their actions, they have now shown to the common man that the law prevails in the country," Bharadwaj said.

Brother of Ruchika Girhotra, who committed suicide in 1993, three years after being molested by Rathore, had filed a complaint with Panchkula police seeking registration of a case under section 306 of IPC against Rathore and a few other police officials.

Two FIRs filed earlier accused the former IPS officer of attempting to murder Ruchika's brother Ashu and doctoring her post-mortem report. The maximum punishment under 306 of IPC for abetment to suicide is 10 years imprisonment. 

Meanwhile, Ruchika's father  Subhash Chander Girhotra on Tuesday  welcomed the slapping of fresh FIR against Rathore as  a "step in the right direction" and thanked Chidambaram for "taking corrective measures" in the case. 

Girhotra, however, rued that despite revival of the charge under section 306 of the IPC, the disgraced former top cop was yet to be taken into custody, saying he felt the Haryana Police was still not serious in arresting him. 

"We are happy, this is the first step in the right direction," he said reacting to the filing of the third fresh FIR against Rathore on complaint of Ruchika's brother Ashu. 

Girhotra said the family was "specially thankful" to Home Minister Chidambaram for taking "corrective measures" pertaining to the case. 

"If such a person was the Home Minister then, my daughter would have been alive today," he told reporters in Panchkula. 

On whether he was hopeful that Rathore would now be arrested, he said "I hope so, this should follow, he is a menace to the society." 

"If such a charge (abetment to suicide) was filed against a common person, he would have been immediately arrested. I don't think the Haryana Police is serious to arrest him". PTI

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