The Panchkula District and Sessions Court on Wednesday declined to grant interim bail to the former Haryana Director-General of Police, S.P.S. Rathore, owing to the non-availability of a copy of the two fresh FIRs registered against him. It deferred the bail hearing till January 1.
Rathore sought anticipatory bail after the fresh FIRs were registered on Tuesday. The FIRs charge him with serious, non-bailable criminal acts in the harassment of the family of the budding tennis player, who was molested by Rathore in 1990, and committed suicide three years later. The long list of charges include attempt to murder and wrongful confinement, criminal intimidation, criminal conspiracy against the victim’s brother, and fabrication of the inquest proceedings and the post-mortem report.
The Haryana police has constituted a Special Investigation Team, headed by Inspector General of Police S.S. Kapoor, to probe the charges.
Rathore, 67, and his wife Abha, who is also his lawyer in the case, were chased by reporters as they entered the court. Ms. Abha alleged that “fabricated, twisted and forged” allegations were being presented by the family of the victim in the case, in which Rathore was sentenced to six months in jail.
In the 40-page petition, she alleged that her husband was facing “nothing but a trial by the media” and sought court protection for him. Ms. Abha said: “We came to know of the FIRs and the fresh charges through the media.” Rathore refused to speak to the media, saying, “Only if you have the constitutional right to make me speak, I will talk.”
