Chandigarh: Union Home Ministry on Monday stripped off ex Haryana DGP SPS Rathore’s police medal in view of him being convicted for molestation of 14-year-old Ruchika Girhotra.

The decision was taken by Home Secretary GK Pillai after he chaired a meeting with the central police medal awards committee to decide on the issue.

Rathore, a 1965-batch IPS officer, who retired in 2002, was awarded the Police Medal for Meritorious Service on August 15, 1985.

Importantly, not taking the Rathore conduct as a one off case, the committee also decided to strip off police medals given to all tainted police officers.

The recommendation report of the committee will now be sent to President Pratibha Patil for ratification.

Incidentally, today morning, in a letter to Union Home Minister P Chidambaram, Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had urged that the prestigious medal awarded to Rathore be taken back.

Rathore was convicted to six months imprisonment this month for molesting Ruchika, a 14-year-old budding tennis player, in 1990. Ruchika had later committed suicide.