A little mystery in Rohtak sisters bravery: Second video’s out
The girls refused to comment on the latest video but their father said that the two had beaten up the boy after he had allegedly eve-teased them
Family members of accused Kuldeep at their Aasan village residence on Monday. (Express photo by Gajendra Yadav)
More question marks emerged on Tuesday in the story of the two Rohtak sisters who beat up their alleged “harassers” on a Haryana Roadways bus last week, with the release of a second video of them beating and kicking another young man, and a village sarpanch saying that the two had lodged a complaint in May against three more youths, including a minor.
Aarti, the elder sister, confirmed the incident shown in the second video that was shot inside the HUDA park in Rohtak. However, the 22-year-old refused to comment on the complaint that she and her 19-year-old sister Pooja had filed five months ago against the youths from Sisana village, alleging that they had slapped and manhandled them.
Late on Tuesday, police said they were looking at three separate incidents involving the two sisters and a total of seven youths, six of whom are students of Jat College in Rohtak.
Mohit, Kuldeep Singh and Deepak Hooda, the three accused of harassing the girls in the “bus video” have been remanded to judicial custody till December 6; the unidentified youth in the second video has not been traced; and, no FIR was filed following the complaint lodged against the three others in May.
Police have still not been able to find out who shot the second video, and how it landed in the hands of Shripal, father of Deepak, who released it on Tuesday. The Indian Express had reported on Monday that police were also yet to trace the person who shot the first video on the bus last week – the girls have claimed that it was done by a pregnant woman they were trying to help.
When contacted, senior officials said that though they had not received the second video officially, they had sought a report on the new development from local police.
The new video emerged a day after Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar announced cash rewards for the two sisters, and official sources said that Kuldeep and Deepak – who had passed a preliminary test for the post of Jawan in the Army – would no longer be considered for recruitment.
Deepak’s father Shripal told The Indian Express that the second video “arrived at their doorstep under mysterious” circumstances. “We cannot reveal how it reached us,” he said. “But we do not know who the boy is. Maybe, his family does not want him to get into trouble.”
Shripal added that it was now the “job of the police” to investigate the matter.
As for the two other accused, Mohit’s family was not available for comment while Balbir Singh, father of Kuldeep, has been admitted to a hospital for treatment of hypertension, high blood pressure and a heart condition.
Shashank Anand, SP, Rohtak, said, “When we contacted these two girls, they said they did not file any complaint about the incident at the park. But we are checking call logs to ascertain if there was any call.”
Shekhar Vidyarthi, District Collector, said he has sought a report from local police and that “all angles” are being investigated. “I can assure that a fair and impartial probe will be carried out. The SSP will submit a report to me very soon and that will decide further course of action,” he said.
According to Aarti, they beat up the unidentified boy shown in the second video after he had teased them at the Rohtak bus stand, from where they usually take the shortcut through the park to reach their college every day.
“That is why we hit him back,” she said. “Why should we remain quiet if someone passes lewd comments? We do not know who shot that video. If we had known that someone was shooting a video, we would have at least informed our father.”
The third case – the complaint filed in May – involved three youths from Sisana, 26 km from Rohtak. According to the village sarpanch, Krishan Kumar, 19-year-old Vinod Dahiya and his two friends, including the minor, were returning from Rohtak on a bus when they entered into an altercation with the sisters. Vinod allegedly slapped one of the sisters following which the complaint was filed in Rohtak’s New Bus Stand police chowki.
“We will look into the matter and get the details from the local police,” said Yash Pal, DSP, Rohtak.
Aarti declined to comment on the incident. But Vinod’s uncle, Satbir, confirmed that no FIR was filed. “Vinod and his friends had a fight with some other boys on the bus about occupying a seat. The other boys were known to these two sisters, so they intervened. The fight escalated and my nephew slapped one of the girls who filed a harassment complaint but no FIR was registered,” Satbir said.
“I do not know if they do it for popularity or money. But I must clarify that the girls never demanded any money from us.”
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