Hearing on Haryana cop’s anticipatory bail plea adjourned
By IANSMonday, June 14, 2010
YAMUNANAGAR - A court here will take up Wednesday the anticipatory bail petition of former inspector general of Haryana Police M.S. Ahlawat, who has been booked for allegedly molesting a woman lawyer in May 2002.
District and Sessions Judge R.C. Godara adjourned the hearing till Wednesday after the complainant Harvinder Kaur’s lawyer said that she was not provided with the copy of the anicipatory bail petition and other related documents.
Ahlawat had moved the court June 10 seeking anticipatory bail.
Police had constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the molestation case registered against Ahlawat, eight years after a woman lawyer first made a complaint.
He was booked following a 2002 complaint of molestation and intimidation filed by Kaur, who lives in this town.
She alleged in her police complaint that she was sexually harassed by Ahlawat in 2002. He was then superintendent of police of Yamunanagar district, about 100 km from the state capital Chandigarh.
On Monday, district police chief Sibash Kabiraj said: “SIT is doing its work. They need time to complete the investigation as they are looking into all aspects of this case. They have already collected evidence from the complainant.”
Kaur said in her complaint that Ahlawat tried to harass her when she had gone to meet him in connection with one of her court cases in May 2002.
She alleged that Ahlawat insisted she come to his residence and sought sexual favours from her. In protest, she also sat outside the office of the state police chief and demanded strict action against the official.
At that time, an inquiry was conducted by a senior official of Haryana Police but he recommended another departmental inquiry against Ahlawat.
In a similar incident of molestation involving a Haryana policeman, former director general of police S.P.S. Rathore was sentenced to 18 months rigorous imprisonment by a district and sessions court here May 25 for molesting teenager Ruchika Girhotra in 1990. She committed suicide three years later.
Rathore is currently lodged in Burail jail in Chandigarh.
