Ruchika's school faces the heat over her expulsion

Chandigarh: Ruchika Girhotra's school Sacred Heart Convent will have to explain on Wednesday why they expelled her in 1990 on the grounds of non payment of fee.

Former principal of Sacred Heart Sister Sebastina will be questioned by Chandigarh administration officials led by inquiry officer Prerna Puri in the case.

Education Department of Chandigarh Administration Deputy Director Saroj Mittal also visited the school as part of the enquiry.

"I have come here to school to meet the principal. I am here to check the record of the school. We come to the school yesterday (Wednesday) also. The principal was in Varanasi for a prayer meeting," Mittal.

Chandigarh administration has already ordered an inquiry into the school's role in the expulsion of Ruchika.

Sister Sebastina was the principal when Ruchika was expelled from school in September 1990, a month after she was molested by former Haryana director general of police SPS Rathore on August 12, 1990.

The school had claimed that Ruchika defaulted in paying the fees and expelled her.

Special Investigation Team Inspector General Shatrujeet Kapoor said that the Ruchika molestation case was not an ordinary case as almost 19 years had passed since the incident.

"Though there is no deadline to complete investigation but it is not an ordinary case. It is an old case so the challenge is to go through lots of old records. Lots of old records are already with CBI and we are in touch with CBI," said Kapoor.

The SIT is likely to summon Rathore for questioning soon. The team is also likely to take possession of the court records related to the Ruchika case.

Officials will also reconstruct the circumstances behind Ruchika's death including her expulsion from school.

They are likely to question all those who were in contact with Rathore and Ruchika. They will also record statements from former investigating officers, who have now come out claiming they were put under pressure.

Ruchika's family and friends have been claiming that she was expelled by her school under pressure from Rathore.

So far the management of the school, in Chandigarh's Sector 26, has been silent on the expulsion of Ruchika, who was a class 10 student at that time.

Incidentally Rathore's daughter was Ruchika’s classmate in the same school and Rathore used her expulsion to counter the chargesheet against him by claiming that the teenager had been expelled on moral grounds.

Ruchika committed suicide December 29, 1993.

Meanwhile, Ruchika's family is likely to file another FIR - the third in two days - in Panchkula against Rathore for abetment of suicide.

The FIR will be lodged on the charge of abetment as the teenager allegedly committed suicide after continuous harassment by the former senior IPS officer.

During their discussions with Home Minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday, Ruchika's lawyer Pankaj Bhardwaj, father SC Girhotra and her friend Aradhana's father Anand Parkash reportedly agreed that another FIR could be lodged against Rathore.

Haryana Police had on Tuesday registered two FIRs on the basis of complaints by Ruchika's father and her brother Ashu regarding alleged harassment of Ashu, including attempt to murder him, and tampering with the post-mortem report of Ruchika.