’It’s ridiculous’

Murdered model Jessica Lall's sister says the judgment in Ruchika case is travesty of justice

'It's ridiculous'

Murdered model Jessica Lall's sister says the judgment in Ruchika case is travesty of justice

She fought the case of her sister's brutal murder in the court and then on the streets to get justice.

Sabrina Lall has been through the mill and candle light vigils and poster campaigns are nothing new to her as she fought to prosecute her sister Jessica Lall's murder at a bar/restaurant in south Delhi at the hands of Manu Sharma, son of an influential politician.

Now, as the Ruchika Girhotra case has been unfolding in a gruesome reminder of her own travails, Sabrina called the six-month prison sentence to former Haryana DGP SPS Rathore "more than ridiculous".

Talking to MiD DAY, Sabrina expressed her shock over the punishment given to the accused. "What I went through to get justice is nothing as compared to the plight of Ruchika's family. They have been living this ordeal for the last 19 years, I don't have words to express how disgusted I feel," she said.

She called herself lucky that she was never threatened by the killers of her sister while she fought the famous court battle. "Unlike Ruchika's brother and her family I was never harassed. Though no comparisons can be drawn but Ruchika's family has gone through the worst," she added.

Sabrina is following the developments in the case very intently and thanked the media and people who are supporting the Girhotra family. "People sitting in influential position and in seats of power can really spoil the things. While the court battle begins after the charge sheet is filed, the case can be damaged in earlier stages.
My suggestions to be family would be to pursue the case till it reaches it rightful end," she said.

She vouched for stringent punishment to Rathore and wished that courts will consider the charge of abetment to suicide in the case to book the former DGP of Haryana. "I would ask them (Ruchika's family) never loose hope and wish that people around them would support them. Most importantly they must want the guilty to be punished, instead of getting threatened they must prepare for a strong battle," she concluded.