CHANDIGARH: The family of teenaged tennis player Ruchika Girhotra, driven to suicide three years after ex-Haryana police chief SPS Rathore molested her in 1990, has given up on its fight for justice after a court accepted CBI's closure report on two cases against the former cop on Friday.
Ruchika's father, Subash Girhotra, said the family presented a lot of material related to these cases — attempt to murder and forgery — but the CBI "seemed to be adamant on closure". Another case involving abetment to suicide is pending before the Punjab and Haryana high court. Girhotra said the family had mustered courage and filed fresh complaints against Rathore after he was, in December 2009, convicted of molesting the 14-year-old. He said he thought the system had changed. "But now it seems that neither has the system changed nor it can be changed. So we decided not to pursue the case."
He said the family sees "no ray of hope now" and it did not object to the closure reports as they cannot "take this any further" and felt "cheated". He said the circumstances have pushed the family 20 years back. Girhotra said he met home minister P Chidambaram and he assured him of justice for all atrocities Rathore had committed after he was convicted.
But intimidation seemed to have been one of the reasons for the family to give up. The family's security was removed three months back. "We have been feeling unsafe. We move out of our house in fear. This is a reason we accepted the closure report," said Ruchika's sister-in-law, Kavita. The ex-cop allegedly harassed the family and filed false cases against Ruchika's brother. The witch-hunt forced the two to leave Chandigarh. They were shifted to several cities and returned to Panchkula many years later.
But the CBI said Girhotra and Ashu's allegations against Rathore "could not be substantiated as per the documentary evidence and oral testimony of witnesses". The CBI had filed three fresh FIRs against Rathore in 2010 following a groundswell of public support in the backdrop of campaigns for justice. But the agency filed the closure report in the two cases 10 months later that were accepted on Friday.
We thought the system had changed. But now it seems that neither has the system changed nor it can be changed. So, we decided not to pursue the case.
Last time it was the media coverage which had made the government restart the case against Rathore after he had been let off with a light sentence or rather no sentence.
It seems Rathore has succeeded in his effort and now the CBI is withdrawing the case and the poor family has to quietly acquiesce as they don't have the strength to fight against such powerful people supported by the state.
Is it any surprise that more and more people are taking to arms against the government?
P.Chidambaram, are you listening?
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