Chandigarh, December 24
Former Haryana DGP SPS Rathore, convicted for molesting a 14-year-old budding tennis player Ruchika, was in the habit of browbeating all those who stood up for the poor girl. From the media to complainants, from the victim to her family, all had the bitter taste of his power.
When he had molested Ruchika, Rathore was posted as Inspector-General in the Bhakra-Beas Management Board (BBMB). Later, he was posted as Director, Vigilance, in the erstwhile Haryana State Electricity Board (HSEB). One of his duties was to check power theft at the end of consumers.
A special team of HSEB officers from Bhiwani was constituted to raid the houses of several complainants against Rathore. The team imposed heavy penalties ostensibly on flimsy grounds.
The victims of Rathore’s wrath approached the then Irrigation and Power Minister, Shamsher Singh Surjewala, with a representation stating that they had
been targeted because they had dared to speak against Rathore. Surjewala immediately directed the then Chairman of the HSEB, T.K. Banerjee, that the facts in the representation should be verified and meanwhile, the proceedings to recover the penalty amount and disconnection of power supply should be stayed.
In a rare case, the full board later waived off the penalty imposed on those who had raised their voice against Rathore.
Later, Surjewala wrote to the then Chief Minister, Bhajan Lal, that Rathore should not be given an assignment, which involved public dealing. That Ruchika’s brother Ashu was implicated in false auto-lifting cases is well known.
The Tribune too had been a target of Rathore. In August 1990, the representation against Rathore, which was signed by several residents of Sector 6, Panchkula, including Anand Prakash and his friend Dr Naresh Mittal, was reported by The Tribune. Within days of the publication, Rathore filed a defamation case against those who had signed the representation against him and The Tribune group of publications.
After the CBI indicted Rathore, The Tribune again demanded that he should be immediately removed from the post of DGP. Even a front-page editorial was carried. But the then INLD government stood by his officer.
Rathore again filed two cases — one criminal and another civil — demanding a compensation of Rs 1 crore each from many of The Tribune journalists. The cases were kept pending in view of the CBI trial against the police officer. They are still pending. Rathore proceeded on leave only after the CBI court headed by Arun Tyagi took cognisance of the CBI challan.
Informed sources say perhaps the then government might still not have acted against Rathore but for intervention by certain women MPs led by Brinda Karat. The MPs, who were planning to visit Haryana to protest against the protection provided by the INLD government to Rathore, requested the then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee that their security should be ensured in the state. Vajpayee reportedly talked to the then Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala in this regard. It was at this stage that Chautala was advised by his officers to ask Rathore to proceed on leave.
