Haryana to honour braveheart sisters; accused sent to jail

Even as the Haryana government Monday said it will honour the two sisters of Rohtak who took on their molesters in a bus, a court sent the accused to judicial custody for five days.

Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar announced that the sisters, Pooja and Aarti, would be presented cash awards on the occasion of Republic Day.

The girls displayed courage by attacking three youths who tried to molest them in a moving bus of Haryana Roadways in Rohtak Friday.

Reports said the driver and conductor of the bus, in which the incident took place and from which the girls were pushed out, have been suspended for failing to control the situation and not informing police and not helping the girls in distress.

The molesters were produced in a court in Rohtak which remanded them to judicial custody for five days.

"The director general of police and the transport department have been directed to take effective steps for ensuring the safety and security of passengers, especially women travelling in Haryana Roadways buses. Bus drivers and conductors have been directed to make sure that such incidents do not occur," a government spokesman said.

The Haryana Police, after going slow over the incident initially, arrested all three molesters -- Deepak, Mohit and Kuldeep -- Sunday evening after the incident was highlighted in the media. They have been booked for molestation and assault.

The police had drawn flak for not taking any action after the incident came to light.

The sisters had thrashed the youths with a belt even after being assaulted. No passenger in the bus came to the rescue of the girls as they were teased and assaulted.

The matter came to light after a woman in the same bus recorded the incident on a mobile phone.

"We fought the assaulters all alone. No one came forward to help us as the youths hit us and even pushed us out of the bus," said Aarti.

The father of the girls alleged that police officials were mounting pressure on them to strike a compromise with the accused.

The girls alleged that the boys were blowing kisses at them and throwing slips towards them on which their mobile phone numbers were written.

When the girls objected, the youths made lewd gestures. A woman passenger objected but she was also harassed by the youths.

The sisters claimed that the bus stopped after some distance and the youths pushed them out and started hitting them.

While one girl fell on the road, the other fell in a field. One of the sisters then attacked the youth with a brick after which he fled from the spot.

The girls called up police and women helpline but failed to get any response. They said officials at the police station also discouraged them from filing the complaint.