I was threatened to immediately cremate Ruchika or lose my son as well,father recalls in complaint

Two complaints by Girhotra and his son Ashu were handed over to the SP by advocate Pankaj Bhardwaj,who was accompanied by Anand Prakash,in the afternoon.

In the complaints that run into a few pages,Girhotra and Ashu have given chilling accounts of the trauma they went through at the hands of Rathore.

Girhotra recalls how he was “instructed” to take Ruchika’s body,which was wrapped in a blanket,from PGI to GMCH-16 for postmortem.

“I was asked to follow a vehicle. When we reached PGI,SI Jai Narayan came and forged a DDR. Then he told the hospital authorities that a complaint regarding this has been lodged in the Sector-6 police station in Panchkula,” the complaint says.

The complaint alleges that the doctor at PGI wanted the local Sub-Divisional Magistrate to carry out inquest proceedings,but Rathore “called up some senior doctor to bail out the dead body without adopting the right procedure”.

While Girhotra was waiting to get the postmortem done at GMCH-16,Rathore had already “arranged” for a doctor to conduct it.

Girohtra has alleged that in the inquest proceedings,Ruchika’s name was “intentionally changed” to Rubi and his to Subhash Chand.

The family,which is yet to recover from the traumatic experience,mentions how Rathore had deployed a few policemen in plainclothes in front of their house to keep an eye on them.

Also,Girhotra was “threatened” to immediately cremate Ruchika or “lose his son as well”,who was in police custody at that time.

In another complaint,Ashu narrates gory details of the treatment meted out to him by Rathore and other policemen.

“I was brutally beaten up in various police stations,including the CIA Staff of Panchkula,where Rathore was present. I was given third-degree torture. Rathore used such filthy language against my sister and father that I cannot narrate it,” Ashu’s complaint says.

In the complaint,Ashu alleges that at Rathore’s behest,he was beaten up regularly and deprived of any food or water.

The father-son duo demanded that fresh FIRs be filed against Rathore. Blaming ASIs Jai Narayan and Sewa Ram and Sub-Inspector Prem Dutt,they further demanded that these people,along with those who fabricated the documents at Rathore’s behest,be booked.

Later in the day,the Haryana Police registered two fresh FIRs against Rathore and other police officials for allegedly slapping false cases against Ashu,attempting to murder him and fabricating the postmortem report of Ruchika.

“We have registered FIRs in connection with both the complaints we had received. We have decided to register fresh cases taking into consideration the seriousness of the case,” SP Maneesh Chaudhary said.

Peace march held on 16th death anniversary
To mark the 16th death anniversary of Ruchika,a peace march was held outside Anand Prakash’s house in Sector 6,Panchkula. Around 50 people participated in the march led by Aradhana. The march culminated at the former house of Ruchika in the same sector. In the march,a diya was lit by Aradhana in memory of her friend,and a two-minute silence was observed. Around 15 students of the Punjab Engineering College also participated in the march.