Teen-molestor-cop loses police medal

SPS Rathore, the police officer who molested 14-year-old Ruchika Girhotra in 1990 will lose the police medal given to him in 1985.

On Monday, Home Ministry officials decided that all convicted officers will lose medals conferred on them. That includes:

• R K Sharma, a former IPS officer from Haryana, who was convicted for the murder of a senior journalist
• A senior official of the Narcotics Bureau under trial for his alleged role in a drug racket
• A Jammu and Kashmir top cop, who led many anti-terror operations, under trial for destroying evidence

"It's a good step and will be a lesson for other officers. It's a step forward towards justice," said Anand Prakash, father of Ruchika's best friend Aradhana, who has led the public campaign against Rathore.

Rathore was one of Haryana's senior-most policemen when he molested Ruchika. After she complained about him, he allegedly retaliated by harassing her family for three years. Defeated, Ruchika killed herself in 1993.

Rathore's career flourished despite that. In 1999, Om Prakash Chautala was Chief Minister of Haryana, and his government recommended Rathore for the President's Medal. That award was not shared with Rathore because of the charges against him in the Ruchika case. It was one of the few obstacles that Rathore encountered after committing his crime. He retired as Haryana's police chief in 2002.

The government and the CBI are working with Ruchika's family to see if Rathore can be charged with abetment of suicide.

Ruchika's school, the Sacred Heart Convent in Chandigarh, has also been asked to explain why it expelled her a month after she was molested. The school claims she had not paid her fee for six months, but the Chandigarh administration is examining whether Rathore pressured the school.