I am Rathore's victim: Ruchika's brother

Panchkula: Molestation victim Ruchika Girhotra's brother Ashu, who was in hiding for the past 16 years since his sister's suicide, emerged on Thursday evening and submitted a fresh complaint to the police of abetment to suicide against former Haryana top cop S P S Rathore.

Ashu’s complaint also seeks a case against serving Haryana Inspector General of Police (IGP) K P Singh, who was the Ambala district police chief when Ashu was booked in false car theft cases by the police at Rathore's behest.

Rathore, former Haryana DGP, has been held guilty of molesting Ruchika 19 years ago. The teenager committed suicide three years later as her family was continually harassed when she filed a complaint against Rathore.

Ashu alleged the Haryana police tortured him on the former DGP’s orders. "Rathore used to come and see the torture himself," he said.

"As you know, the molestation of my sister took place in 1990. Rathore unleashed torture on me and my family after that. False cases were put on me, leading to my sister committing suicide," Ashu said.

"We were harassed, tortured in police custody," Ashu told reporters.

"My demand is that Rathore should be arrested and put behind bars," Ashu added before being taken away by family members and lawyer Pankaj Bhardwaj.

Having lived a life in hiding ever since his torture by the Haryana police between 1990 and December 1993, Ashu walked confidently out of his house in Sector 12-A here.

Wearing blue jeans and an off-white jacket, Ashu was taken in a green-coloured Honda-CRV sports utility vehicle by lawyer Pankaj Bhardwaj to the office of Panchkula's superintendent of police in Sector 1 here.

He was accompanied by his father, S C Girhotra, and Anand Praksh, father of Ruchika's friend Aradhana, who fought the case relentlessly against Rathore in the last 19 years.

"We have filed a fresh complaint with the police seeking registration of a case of abetment of suicide against Rathore and others. In this petition, the complainant is Ashu himself," Bhardwaj told reporters here.

Bhardwaj wondered why the Panchkula police was not arresting Rathore despite the registration of two new first information reports (FIRs) against him by the police Tuesday.

"Rathore has been booked under non-bailable sections of the IPC. Why is the police delaying his arrest," the lawyer asked.