Ruchika's post-mortem report was doctored: Lawyer

The lawyer of Ruchika Girhotra's family on Saturday rejected the post-mortem report of the teenager, which blamed her death on the excessive use of slimming pills.

"The report very clearly mentions slimming pills as the reason behind the death. But slimming pills, even if somebody takes more than two, cannot kill," said Pankaj Bharadwaj, the Girhotras' lawyer.

Former Haryana Director General of Police S P S Rathore was on Monday convicted of molesting 14-year-old Ruchika, a budding tennis player, in 1990 when he was an inspector general of police.

The family of the girl, who committed suicide three years later, says that they were harassed by authorities for pursuing the case against Rathore and Ruchika's brother was arrested in a string of false cases. Bharadwaj indicated that Ruchika's father Subhash Chander Girhotra did not raise doubts over the post-mortem report as he was under pressure to save his son.

He said Ruchika's father had informed him that accepting the report was the "only way to get his son back." Bharadwaj claimed that whatever Girhotra was asked to do, he did in an effort to bargain for his son's freedom.

Rathore has been convicted by a Central Bureau of Investigation court in the molestation case and awarded a six-month jail sentence.

Bharadwaj also demanded 'monetary help' for the family from the Haryana government. "There cannot be any amount of monetary compensation that matters," he said.

He said if the state government fails to provide monetary help, he would move the court for the same. When asked whether the money will change the focus of the case, he said as Girhotra is currently under suspension, the money will help the household.