Ruchika's school teachers questioned

A local magistrate has questioned the Sacred Heart School in Chandigarh as to why it expelled budding tennis player Ruchika Girhotra, that too a month after she was molested by senior Haryana police officer S S P Rathore in August 1990.

The Haryana Government had ordered the enquiry even as Chief Minister has promised a speedy investigation into fresh charges leveled by Ruchika's brother Ashu that it was his detention and torture in a slew of false cases to pressurise Ruchika to withdraw the complaint against Rathore that drove her to suicide three years after the molestation.

Over the weekend, sub-divisional magistrate Prerna Puri has questioned school principal Sister S Sebastina and two teachers who have been with the school for the past two decades.

The enquiry followed the stand taken by the school that Ruchika was not sent out and that her name was taken off the rolls after she failed to pay fees for six months.

Father Thomas Anchanickal, vicar-general, Chandigarh-Shimla diocese spokesperson, had said:

"Ruchika was never victimised and expelled from the school. She did not pay her fees continuously from April to September 1990, therefore her name was taken off the school register the next month".

The school administration also maintained that it was unaware that Ruchika was molested in August 1990, that is a month before her name was taken off the roaster.

Retired English teacher Amarjit Toor who had taught Ruchika was, however, quoted by the Indian Express as saying that "the matter was brushed under the carpet and nobody talked of it in the school".

Sources said besides Ruchika, there were five or six other students who too had defaulted on payment, but they were not expelled. The magisterial inquiry also revealed that Ruchika had defaulted on payment for seven months when she was in Class IX, but she was not expelled at that time.

When she defaulted in Class X, action was taken against her.

Another teacher said non-payment of fee was just an alibi. When Ruchika's father met the principal, he was told that since Rathore's daughter Priyanjali was Ruchika's classmate and she felt embarrassed, they could not allow Ruchika to continue in the school..

On Dec 21, a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Chandigarh held Rathore, who had retired as Director-General of Police despite the scandal, guilty of molesting 14-year-old Ruchika Aug 12, 1990 and sentenced him to six months' imprisonment. He was immediately enlarged on bail.

Ruchika committed suicide in 1993, unable to cope with the harassment of her family and alleged torture of her brother by the Haryana Police, which slapped false cases of car theft against him.

After fresh FIRs were registered against Rathore, accusing him of abetment to suicide and misusing office to slap false cases against Ruchika's brother, a sessions court in Panchkula, near Chandigarh, granted interim anticipatory bail to him till the next hearing on Jan 7.

Despite the media attention and a nation-wide public outcry, the local police did not act on the three new FIRs for three days last week, thus giving Rathore enough time to move for anticipatory bail.

- Asian Tribune -