Ruchika case: Witness accuses CBI of shielding cops

PANCHKULA - A witness in the Ruchika Girhotra molestation case Tuesday said the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) while filing a closure report in a court ignored his statement that the dead girl’s brother was tortured by police.

Vijay Dheer told reporters here that he told CBI officials that he had seen Ruchika’s brother Ashu Girhotra being paraded half-naked but his statement was not mentioned in the report.

“Ashu was paraded half-naked in the street, in front of his house. He was also tortured by police before everyone. I told this to CBI but they did not pay any heed and completely ignored it in their report,” said Dheer.

The CBI, having failed to gather proof against former Haryana police chief S.P.S. Rathore, 69, submitted a closure report before a court last month pertaining to two first information reports (FIRs) that were registered against him Dec 29 last year.

The two FIRs were registered against Rathore on the complaint of Ruchika’s father S.C. Girhotra and brother.

He was booked for non-bailable charges like attempt to murder, criminal intimidation, forging evidence, wrongful confinement, fabricating false evidence, custodial torture and criminal conspiracy.

A third case in which Rathore was booked for abetting Ruchika’s suicide is pending in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

“The CBI is favouring Rathore and is biased towards him. We want them to record the statements of Vijay Dheer and withdraw their closure report,” Ruchika’s father told IANS.

Rathore was May 25 sent to jail by the the district and sessions court of Chandigarh which upheld his conviction in the molestation case by a CBI special court in December last year and enhanced his jail term to 18 months.

He was sentenced to six months rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs.1,000 by the CBI special court. He was immediately granted bail then.

Rathore was released from the high-security Burail jail here Nov 12, 2010 after he got bail from the Supreme Court.