After three years, the men accused of allegedly harassing two sisters from Rohtak have been acquitted of all charges on 3 March 2017. They were wrongly accused and charged with molesting the sisters in December 2014. Though they were released on bail, it has taken three years to finally be acquitted. Here is the timeline of the events.

The controversy surrounding the Rohtak sisters is about a video that went viral on the social media in November 2014 and the aftermath that followed.

Original Video – 28 November 2014

As per the initial reports, the two sisters, Pooja and Aarti from Kharkhauda, students of Bachelor of Computer Application in IC Women’s Government College, were waiting for the bus on their way home near Rohtak, Haryana. It was when two men from a nearby village approached and allegedly harassed them.

The report also suggested that a third man also joined the alleged molesters who were following the girls. One of the accused allegedly grabbed Aarti’s neck, which instigated her sister, Pooja, who assaulted the men using her belt. One of the girls also threw a brick that had hit one of the men.

No passenger seemed to have interfered during this whole incident, which took place in a moving bus. Further, the women’s helpline gave no response either, when the girls tried to call them. Finally, the girls’ parents reported the case to the Rohtak Sadar Police Station. One of the co-passengers in the bus had apparently shot a video of the incident with his mobile camera, which later went viral on social media.

Two days after the incident, the local police arrested the three accused. The three men were charged under Section 354 (assault or criminal force with intent to outrage woman’s modesty) and Section 323 (voluntary causing hurt) of the Indian Penal Code. The police also commented that no eyewitnesses came forward to report the incident or support the girls.

It did not take long for the video to be played on various television news channels of India. The girls, nicknamed ‘brave-hearts’, got a lot of appreciation all over the media for this act. Further, Manohar Lal Khattar, Chief Minister of Haryana also announced a cash prize of Rs 31,000 to each of the two sisters on Republic Day (2015) as an appreciation for their act of bravery.

After an interview with the father of one of the accused, it was found that the three accused were 19-years old and were students of Bachelor of Arts at the Jat College in Rohtak. Two of these boys, Kuldeep and Mohit, were reportedly returning on this bus after an army recruitment exam. A sick old woman had asked these boys to buy her a bus ticket, at the bus stop. The sisters, who were already onboard, started an argument that eventually turned into a heated fight, as the boys asked them to vacate the allotted old woman’s seat. The third accused, Deepak boarded the bus later and got entangled in the ongoing fight.

After the incident, the Indian Army sources stated that Kuldeep and Mohit who had passed the physical test, will not be permitted to appear for the written exam.

Second Video – 2 December 2014

A second video of the Rohtak sisters went viral on the Internet, just a few days after the first one. The girls claimed that the video was, in fact, a month older, and was shot by a bystander who was present at the location in Huda Park, Rohtak. The sisters reported that a boy had teased them in the park, and had eventually fled, as the girls started to beat him. The girls claimed that they did not report this incident to police as the accused had escaped, and also denied claims about releasing the second video for publicity.

Consequences and Trials

By 4 December 2014, a third video had started going viral via media, showing the accused of the bus incident (on 2 December), being beaten by his father as he asks them to apologise to the girls.

On 5 December 2014, some passengers of the bus came forward to testify in front of the police about the bus incident (on 28 November). They claimed that the whole quarrel was about the old woman’s seat being occupied by the girls, rather than teasing.

Following these turn of events, the girls voluntarily requested for a Polygraph and Psychological Assessment Test (PAT) to prove their version of the incidents were true. However, the results came out ‘unsatisfactory’ for the girls, while the accused men had passed the tests.

By this time, the arrested, accused three men had been released on bail. Further, another man reportedly came forward to claim of being victimised by these girls similarly who had accused him of molestation. He eventually had to pay Rs 20,000 to have these charges withdrawn.

Considering these contradictory versions of the incident being reported, the Haryana government decided to hold back the award that was announced for the girls’ bravery.

Finally, after the testimony of 40 witnesses that favoured the accused boys, combined with the results of…