Haryana ex-top cop’s anticipatory bail plea rejected

YAMUNANAGAR - A local court here Wednesday rejected the anticipatory bail petition of former inspector general of Haryana Police M.S. Ahlawat, who was booked June 8 for allegedly molesting a woman lawyer in May 2002.

Ahlawat’s anticipatory bail plea was turned down by District and Sessions Judge R.C. Godara.

Ahlawat, who moved the court here June 10, was not present in the court during the hearing.

However, his lawyer said that they will now file a plea in the Punjab and Haryana High Court in Chandigarh.

“Ahlawat is falsely implicated in this case as the complainant has no concrete proofs and all her claims are baseless. If she was so harassed and nobody was listening to her then why didn’t she approach the court during the last eight years? We will soon approach high court against this decision,” I.K. Gujral, Ahlawat’s lawyer, told reporters here.

The complainant’s lawyer, while arguing in the court, said: “Many inquiries were done in this case but nobody summoned Ahlawat and questioned him. We strongly oppose this bail petition.”

Haryana Police had constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the molestation case registered against Ahlawat, eight years after the lawyer first made her complaint.

He was booked following a 2002 complaint of molestation and intimidation of Harvinder Kaur, who lives in this town.

She alleged in her police complaint that she had been sexually harassed by Ahlawat in 2002. He was then superintendent of police of Yamunanagar district, about 100 km from the state capital Chandigarh.

Kaur expressed satisfaction over the court’s decision. “I am satisfied with the court’s verdict. Now I want police to arrest Ahlawat immediately,” she said here Wednesday.

Kaur said in her complaint that Ahlawat had tried to harass her when she had gone to meet him in connection with one of her court cases in May 2002.

She alleged that Ahlawat insisted she come to his residence and sought sexual favours from her. In protest, she also sat outside the office of the state police chief and demanded strict action against the official.

At that time, an inquiry was conducted by a senior official of Haryana Police but he recommended another departmental inquiry against Ahlawat.

Recently, a court had upheld the conviction of former state police chief S.P.S. Rathore for molesting teenager Ruchika Girhotra in 1990. She later committed suicide.

Rathore, who had initially been sentenced to six months, was awarded 18 months rigorous imprisonment and is currently lodged in Chandigarh’s Burail jail.