Rathore stripped of medal

The Government of India on Monday decided to strip former Haryana Director-General of Police S S P Rathore of the meritorious service medal awarded to him in 1985 following his conviction in a case involving molestation of 14-year-old Ruchika Girhotri in Panchkula near Chandigarh way back in August 1990.

The Central Police Awards Committee (CPAC) authorised the Union Home Secretary to recommend withdrawal of the medals to not only Rathore but also other officers who had been convicted for "moral turpitude", or dismissed from police forces or had brought "disrepute and a bad name" to the police in other ways.

The definition of "moral turpitude" includes acts of corruption, theft, murder, rape and molestation, besides others.

Home Secretary G.K. Pillai told reporters that it had been decided to recommend to the President withdrawal of the police medal given to former Haryana DGP S.P.S.Rathore.

Other prominent police officers who are set to lose their medalas are former Inspector-General of Police R K Sharma convicted of the murder of journalist Shivani Bhatnagar with whom he had an extra-marital affair and former Punjab Director-General of Police K.P.S. Gill found guilty of misbehaving with a top woman administrator.

Reacting to the Government decision to strip Rathore of his medal, Ruchika's friend Aradhana Gupta, who was witness to the molestation and who deposed in the case filed by her parents Anand and Madhu Sharma, said the wheels of justice were slowly catching up with the errant police
officer.

The family, which fought the battle all these years, said it was the media publicity to the outrage caused by the mild sentence of six months imprisonment awarded by a special court which made the Government of India see that justice was done to the family of Ruchika who committed suicide in 1993, unable to bear the torture inflicted on her father and brother by the police officer to force her to withdraw her complaint against him.

- Asian Tribune -