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	India Church Backs Probe into Catholic School over Girl's Suicide Union of Catholic Asian News December 31, 2009 http://www.ucanews.com/2009/12/31/church-backs-probe-into-catholic-school-over-girls-suicide/ NEW DELHI (UCAN) -- Church officials say they will back a government investigation into Sacred Heart School in Chandigarh, which expelled a girl a month after she had been molested by a senior police officer. The girl, Ruchika Girhotra, 14 at the time, subsequently committed suicide. Girhotra's parents and friends say the school acted under pressure from the officer, S. Rathore, who was then director general of police in Haryana state. Rathore's daughter was Girhotra's classmate. The Chandigarh administration this week seized school records as part of a magistrate's inquiry into the role played by the school. Sister S. Sebastina, the principal of the school now and in 1990 when Girhotra was expelled, is expected to face questioning as to why she threw the girl out. The school has avoided the media since the scandal broke but many people have expressed their shock and disbelief on the alumni's Facebook page. Sacred Heart School is managed by the Clarist Franciscan Missionaries of the Most Blessed Sacrament. Reports suggest the school gave "unpaid fees" as the reason for expelling the girl. Father Babu Joseph, spokesperson of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI), says the Church will support any investigation aimed at unearthing the facts. The Divine Word priest, however, told UCA News that since the case is being investigated, it would be premature to judge the school. He said he wants the probe to find out "the circumstances" that led to the girl's expulsion and her tragic death. Montfort Brother Mani Mekkunnel, national secretary of the Conference of Religious India, also welcomed the probe. "We should stand for the truth and not bow before corrupt officials who have different motives," he said. "We should help the victim get justice even though it is late." Brother Mekkunnel hoped the controversy would help "our schools and institutions" prepare better for any similar cases in future. Meanwhile federal law minister Veerappa Moily on Dec. 30 said the government plans to charge Rathore with abetting the girl's suicide, a crime that carries a minimum 10-year jail sentence. The public outrage erupted after Dec. 21, when a special court of the federal Central Bureau of Investigation in Chandigarh held Rathore guilty, but awarded a mere six-month prison term and 1,000-rupee (US$21) fine. Another court denied Rathore anticipatory bail on Dec. 30, a day after the Haryana police registered two fresh cases against him. In one, Rathore was accused of lodging false cases against Girhotra's brother and trying to kill him, and the other of fabricating her autopsy report. Girhotra's family say the police officer persistently harassed them to withdraw the complaint against him, which helped drive the girl to suicide.
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