Lessons in impunity

After S.P.S. Rathores punishment was enhanced to one and a half years,this newspaper argued that the time had come to go after those who aided the former Haryana DGP in harassing Ruchika Girhotra and her family. The hall of shame contains a bipartisan list of politicians who backed Rathore,administrators and cops who silently watched her familys harassment,and Ruchikas own school which threw her out on the piffling pretext of non-payment of fees on time. Sacred Heart Convents cowardice would have hurt the most; instead of nurturing its ward,the school ignored every lesson it taught. Sacred Hearts craven concession to those in power is symptomatic of Chandigarh,a city built on babudom and the connections that go with it.

Rathore was able to tweak these networks to harass Ruchikas family,culminating in her 1993 suicide. These networks now need to be questioned. Spurred on by the public and media pressure after Rathores original six-month sentence,the Central Board of Secondary Education which Sacred Heart is affiliated to began an official inquiry into the schools actions on January 28,2010. That inquiry has now yielded a report: the school administration has been found guilty of violating a series of administrative rules. Possible punishments range from withdrawing CBSE affiliation to fining the schools principal.

CBSE must,of course,be careful not to punish current students who bear no taint of their teachers actions. Though Sacred Heart should have been punished long,long ago,the report is,hopefully,the first step in ensuring that Rathores long list of accomplices are held to account,their shenanigans pushed from the shadowy realm of rumour to the public glare of an official censure. Sacred heart has been officially judged heartless. Now for the rest.