Police tortured me: Ruchika's brother

New Delhi, Dec 25: Ruchika Girhotra's brother Ashu had said in his statement before a court that he was tortured in police stations in the presence of S P S Rathore during the sessions.

"They tortured me. My hands were tied on my back and I was made to bend. My feet were tied with a weight. I was kept in this position for 10-15 minutes," Aashu, who was about 20 years old then, had said on Sep 3, 2002, before a sessions court in Patiala.

He also said Rathore threatened him and his family to try and get Ruchika to withdraw his statements.

According to the affidavit, Ashu told the court that he was picked up from his house on Oct 23, 1993 by people who were in plain clothes, two months before Ruchika committed suicide.

Ashu was reportedly kept in the CIA police post in Mansa Devi and was slapped with 11 cases, most involving him in theft.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court, taking a suo-motu action, had directed the sessions court to inquire into the allegations made by Ashu before it. The statement was recorded by the sessions court as part of the inquiry.

Ruchika, a 14-year-old budding tennis player, was molested in 1990 by Rathore, the then Haryana inspector general of police.

The teenager committed suicide three years later by consuming poison.

OneIndia News