Ruchika Case: Rathore to appeal for suspension of punishment

Chandigarh, May 26 (ANI): Former Haryana Director General of Police (DGP) SPS Rathore who was sent to jail for molesting Ruchika Girhotra has appealed for suspension of the sentence.

Rathore’s lawyer wife Abha is expected to file a petition on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Chandigarh Sessions Court sentenced Rathore to a year and half year in jail for molesting 14-year old Ruchika in 1990.

Rathore, who was arrested and sent to Burail jail immediately after the pronouncement of the verdict, has spent his first night there on Tuesday.

The court directed the jail superintendent to provide proper medical care to Rathore, as Abha informed the court that he was a heart patient and required care.

The court also allowed Rathore’s plea for getting himself examined at the cardiac care department of the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh.

Pronouncing the verdict, Additional District and Sessions Judge Gurbir Singh dismissed the appeal filed Rathore challenging the six-month jail term handed to him by a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in December 2009.

Judge Singh allowed the pleas of the CBI and Ruchika’s family for enhancement of Rathore’s sentence.

They had sought the maximum punishment of two years. (ANI)