S P S Rathore stabbed by NID student outside Chandigarh court

Former Haryana Director General of Police S P S Rathore, who was convicted recently of molesting a girl Ruchika Girhotra 19 years ago, was injured when he was stabbed in the face with a small knife by a youth outside a court in Chandigarh.

Mr Rathore, 68, was coming out of the court in the morning after attending a hearing of the appeal he has filed against the six-sentence given to him, was rushed to a hospital where he was said to be stable.

Later, he came back for some time to the court with a bandage on his right cheek. The court later fixed the next hearing for February 10.

Ruchika, who was 14 when the incident took place in 1990, had committed suicide three years later in 1993, apparently unable to bear the harassment her family was being subjected to after she complained about the molestation.

The youth was identified as Utsav Sharma, 29, who hails from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and is a student of the prestigious National Institute of Design (NID) in Ahmedabad. He was arrested by the police and was being questioned about the attack, which he carried out while posing as a journalist.

Sharma's father told journalists in Varanasi that his son was suffering from depression and was under treatment for psychological problems. NID officials in Ahmedabad said they would take action against Utsav as per the law.

Rathore was walking towards his car after coming out of the district court complex when the youth, who was standing with a group of mediapersons waiting to talk to the retired police officer, suddenly moved forward, caught him by the neck and stabbed him thrice in the face before the policemen escorting him could react and overpower him.

Rathore was seen covering the wound on his face with a handkerchief while the polciemen forced the youth down to the ground.

Chandigarh police sources said they were trying to ascertain the motive for the youth's action. They said they had been in touch with his parents as well as officials in NID.

The youth's father said he was leaving for Ahmedabad to collect his medical papers which would show he was suffering from depression.

Utsav has completed a post-graduate course in animation and film design at NID but is yet to get his certificate because he has not complied with the mandatory requirement of internship.

Meanwhile, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is investigating three cases filed by relatives of Ruchika last month. The cases were filed after a public outrage against the six-month sentence handed out to Rathore, which many people felt was too meagre.

Ruchika was a budding 14-year-old tennis player in 1990 and the incident of molestation took place on August 12 that year. Mr Rathore, an Inspector General of Police then, was also president of the Haryana Lawn Tennis Association. He retired from service in 2002.

NNN