Court asks Ruchika Girhotra's father to file reply to closure reports

A special CBI court in Ambala today asked the family of Ruchika Girhotra, who was molested by former director general of police (DGP) SPS Rathore in 1990, to file their replies to the closure reports filed by the CBI last month in cases against Rathore.

Special magistrate for CBI cases Abdul Majid fixed January 31 as the next date for hearing the matter.

Ruchika's father SC Girhotra and brother Ashu were not present in the CBI court today and were represented by their counsels.

The CBI, in its closure reports filed last month in two of the three fresh cases registered against Rathore in connection with the Ruchika molestation case, said that the allegations against the ex-DGP could not be substantiated as per documentary evidence and oral testimony of witnesses.

Opposing the closure report, SC Girhotra had alleged that the CBI had been working in a partial manner which was benefiting Rathore.

The two cases in which closure reports have been filed by the CBI are related to the accusation against Rathore that he had doctored Ruchika's postmortem report and was behind the custodial torture of her brother Ashu. However, the probe into the abetment to suicide charge is still on.

SC Girhotra had alleged in his complaint to the police that after his daughter consumed poison on December 28, 1993, three years after she was molested by Rathore, he was forced by the former police chief to take her to PGI at Chandigarh where during the post mortem, the Magistrate was not summoned by the police.

Ashu Girhotra, in his complaint, had alleged that a false case of auto theft was slapped on him at the behest of Rathore and he was brutally tortured by police.

Ruchika, 14, a budding tennis player who was molested by Rathore on August 12,1990, had committed suicide three years later.

During a previous hearing in the court, SC Girhotra had filed two applications, one for himself and the other on behalf of his son Ashu Girhotra, asking for copies of the CBI's closure reports in these cases.

While SC Girhotra was handed over a copy of the closure report earlier, the same was handed over to Ashu's counsel today.