Flashback: Stories that caught your attention in 2009
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India's Ruchika: Fight for justice
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After 19 years of untold trauma, Ruchika's family members are finally speaking out against former Haryana DGP SPS Rathore.
As a mark of protest against the quantum of sentence pronounced by a CBI court, Ruchika's friend Aradhana Gupta, along with Ruchika's father, on Saturday formed a human chain in Chandigarh, demanding harsher punishment for Rathore.
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Amidst the uproar over the Ruchika molestation issue, Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Saturday said the entire case against Rathore should be revisited.
The minister said the state government will explore legal options to reopen the case.
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Nineteen years ago, In 1990, 14-yar-old Ruchika Girohtra was molested by Rathore. It was through the tennis circuit in their home town that Ruchika and her friend, Aradhana Parkash, met SPS Rathore. Ruchika was a promising young tennis player; Rathore, the President of Haryana's Lawn Tennis Federation.
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Two weeks after an inquiry indicted Rathore, Ruchika was expelled from school for 'indiscipline'. Three years later, her brother was arrested for multiple cases of theft - just one example, her family alleged, of the police exacting revenge. Ruchika killed herself by drinking poison in 1993. She was 17. Immediately after her death, the cases against her brother were dropped. The Girotras left Chandigarh.
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It was through a tennis circuit in their home town that Ruchika and her friend, Aradhana Parkash, met SPS Rathore. Ruchika was a promising young tennis player; Rathore, the President of Haryana's Lawn Tennis Federation.
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On that fateful day, Rathore sent Aradhana on an errand. When she returned, she found Rathore molesting her best friend.
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After Ruchika's death, Aradhana, a witness to the molestation, fought on.. For 19 years, she fought in courts and government offices to ensure that the case was not buried. Even after getting married and moving to Australia, she would fly home for important hearings.
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The CBI took over Ruchika's case in 2000. It filed its chargesheet against Rathore within 11 months on the complaint of Parkash, Aradhana's father.
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Investigating officials say Rathore delayed the trial by managing to get it transferred thrice. It moved from CBI courts in Ambala to Patiala and finally to Chandigarh, where, on December 21, Rathore was given six months in prison.
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Aradhana is angry at Monday's verdict and vows to do more battle. "We are disappointed...we expected more...six months will not serve the purpose," she says, adding that the battle for justice that she and her parents have waged over almost two decades has been a tough one.
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Nineteen years after his teenage daughter was molested by one of Haryana's senior-most policeman, Subhash Chandra Girhotra breaks down as he recalls the courage of a young girl who dared to take on a powerful and ruthless opponent.
"My little girl is gone....nothing can bring her back,...but let no other child go through this " he says, weeping. This is the first time that Ruchika's father has spoken to the media since Monday's verdict, which sentenced SPS Rathore to six months in prison for molesting 14-year-old Ruchika. "I stayed underground because of fear of harassment," he explains.
kev:
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Congress sweeps General Elections'09
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The Congress party defied expectations as it claimed an overwhelming victory in India's parliamentary elections in May 2009.
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Voters backed the secular leadership and the continued premiership of Manmohan Singh.
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Party workers celebrated the Congress' victory in camps across the country.
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kev:
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Terror targets Pakistan
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The new leadership of the Taliban in Pakistan vowed to strike back at the Pakistani government for the increasing the number of drone attacks in Pakistan's tribal areas.
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Unmanned drones have carried out more than 70 missile strikes in northwestern Pakistan over the last year in a covert program, killing top militant commanders and civilians.
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At least 19 people were killed on October 11 including six soldiers, two commandos, eight terrorists and three hostages, in a terrorist attack at the Pakistan Army Headquarters in Rawalpindi.
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Pink Chaddi Campaign
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Here was a campaign of 'Gandhigiri' with a difference: Over 3,000 people joined 'The Pink Chaddi Campaign' to send a bagful of pink underwear to the office of the Sri Ram Sene, on Valentine's Day. This was a nonviolent protest launched in response to various incidents of conservative and right-wing activism against perceived violations of Indian culture. The Sri Ram Sene was responsible for the violent Mangalore pub attack, that enraged people across the country and sparked debates over what the group termed as an act to protect the Indian culture.
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The campaign was conceived particularly in protest against a threat by Pramod Muthalik of the Sri Ram Sena, who had threatened to marry off and take other action on any young couples found together on Valentine's Day. Muthalik is a former member of the RSS, the Bajrang Dal and the Shiv Sena.
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The pink chaddi campaign started as a group on Facebook on February 5 by a young woman, Nisha Susan. It was fuelled by a group of women, who called themselves "Pub-going, loose, forward women", urging people to join in the novel form of protest. Thousands of people joined the Facebook group, urging their friends through emails and other messages to send pink underwear to Sri Ram Sene.
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The campaign saw underwear being sent in from all over India: Hundreds of pink chaddis were couriered to the Shri Ram Sene offices. It received widespread media coverage, and some political reactions as well. As a precautionary measure, Muthalik and 140 others of the Sri Ram Sena were held in preventive custody on Valentine's Eve
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