Molester DGP's attacker gets bail

A young man, who allegedly inflicted knife injuries on former Haryana director general of police SPS Rathore, convicted in the Ruchika molestation case, was on Friday granted bail by a court in Chandigarh.

Utsav Sharma, 29, who is said to be suffering from a psychological disorder, was released on bail by Civil Judge-cum-Magistrate Palwinderjit Kaur on a bond of Rs 50,000. The court fixed February 24 as the next date of hearing. Sharma, a student of Ahmedabad's prestigious National Institute of Design, had stabbed 68-year-old Rathore thrice in the face with a pocket knife on Monday, while posing as a journalist.

The incident occurred when the former Indian Penal Service officer was leaving the court after a hearing. Sharma, who was arrested immediately, was on Tuesday remanded to a day's police custody.

His father Professor Sushil Kumar Sharma and his mother Professor Indra Sharma, who had arrived in Chandigarh from Varanasi on Tuesday, were present in the court.

Sharma's counsel submitted before the judge that the boy belonged to a well-to-do family and he had no criminal background. Speaking to the media outside the court, his mother said, "Punishment should be given to those who do some wrong and not to innocents."

"My son is innocent," she claimed, adding, "the people holding administrative posts need to be sensitised towards common people."