FIR lodged against Haryana DGP in `molestation’ case

CHANDIGARH, DECEMBER 31: Having dithered for a fortnight, the Haryana Police has registered a case against its Director General Shambu Pra...

CHANDIGARH, DECEMBER 31: Having dithered for a fortnight, the Haryana Police has registered a case against its Director General Shambu Pratap Singh Rathore for allegedly molesting a teenaged girl. The First Information Report, which has come nearly 10 years after the incident, was lodged in a Panchkula Police Station last night under section 354 and 509 of the Indian Penal Code.

The case was registered more than two weeks after the Supreme Court upheld a judgment passed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court ordering the state police to register a case against Rathore for alleged molestation of a girl by him. The Om Prakash Chautala-led INLD government, however, continues to be in a quandary about the fate of Rathore. While an influential lobby has been working overtime for removal of Rathore, an 1965 batch IPS officer, from the coveted job, senior officials in the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) are giving confusing signals about any changes in the police set-up in the state.

The official line continues tobe the state government was seized with the matter, with the Chief Minister evading questions on the controversy. The apex order has also triggered intense lobbying, which will only intensify after the registration of the case against Rathore, by aspirants for the top job. The case is expected to be transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) shortly as per the directions of the apex court.The CBI inquiry was was ordered by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on a writ petition filed by Madhu Prakash, mother of a friend of Ruchika who was allegedly molested by Rathore in 1990. When Ruchika, a young girl residing in Panchkula, accused Rathore of molesting her, the then CM Hukam Singh had ordered an inquiry into the incident.

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The matter was probed by the then DGP, R.R. Singh, who said that prima facie it was a fit case for investigation. But the report was ignored by the government, saying there was no case to initiate even departmental inquiry against the IPS officer. Initially, Ruchika and herparents tried to pursue the matter, but nothing happened.

However, when Ruchika committed suicide after her family was allegedly harassed by the state police, Madhu Prakash filed a writ in the High Court on the basis of the report prepared by R.R. Singh. She alleged that the charges against Rathore were not probed because he was a high-ranking police officer. When the High Court ordered an inquiry, Rathore went to the apex court to challenge the order, questioning the locus standi of Madhu Prakash in the case. However, the Supreme Court on December 14 upheld the High Court’s order.

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