Church denies school expelled girl under pressure in Chandigarh India
January 9, 2010) Church authorities have rejected a government report that found
Chandigarh's Sacred Heart School's expulsion of a student was arbitrary and appeared
to be a result of external influence. Ruchika Girhotra was expelled when she was a
10th grader in 1990 shortly after she had been molested by S. Rathore, then director
general of police in Haryana state. The girl committed suicide three years later.
An inquiry launched by the Chandigarh administration found there had been pressure
to expel Girhotra for non-payment of fees. The report's author, Magistrate Prerna
Puri, said principal Sister S. Sebastina and teachers denied knowledge of the molestation.
Girhotra is the only student the school has expelled because of non-payment of fees,
the report found. The school, Simla Chandigarh diocese and the Catholic Bishops' Conference
of India (CBCI) all reject the report's findings. Diocesan vicar general Father Thomas
Anchanickal said the school did not act under pressure. But he also added that no
student would be expelled just because of non-payment of fees and denied any responsibility
for the girl's death. "She committed suicide after three years and the school is
no way responsible for it," said the priest, who is in charge of diocesan schools.
CBCI spokesperson Father Babu Joseph says his enquiries indicated that the school
had not acted under pressure. The government "enquiry findings are not true. Why should
a Catholic institution act under pressure?" he asked. It was "unfortunate" that Girhotra
killed herself, Father Joseph said. "Maybe the school should have taken special care
of her. In that case, there was an oversight on the part of the school."