Sisters fought harassers on bus, no one helped them.
Harassed by three men on a public bus on Friday, two young sisters in Rohtak, Haryana, refused to look away or suffer in silence. In a mobile phone video that is now viral, the girls are seen thrashing the offenders, even using a belt, while other commuters just watch.
Here are 10 developments in this story:
Arati, 22, and Pooja, 19, allege that the men started harassing them even before they boarded the crowded bus after college. They were heading home after exams.
The men threw chits of paper, reportedly with their mobile phone numbers, at the girls. They started passing comments and got bolder as they saw no one else reacting, not even the driver and conductor of the bus. After enduring their lewd comments, abuses, obscene gestures and touches, the sisters decided to act.
"On the bus, they made obscene gestures, touched us and abused us. We could not take it anymore and started beating them. One of the men grabbed my sister's hand and the other held me by the neck. That's when my sister took out her belt and started hitting them," said Pooja.
Her sister Arati added, "Others in the bus told us 'don't do anything... they will rape you or pour acid on you. They will kill you'...We were scared but we did not give up."
No one stepped in to help the girls. One passenger, a pregnant woman reportedly tried to intervene, but when the men turned on her, the sisters hit out again.
As the video clip provoked a flood of reactions on social media, it was after two days, late on Sunday night, that the police said all three, Kuldeep, Mohit and Deepak, had been arrested.
The men, all from one village, were going to join the army. "There is no place for such men in the Indian army," said Army Sources, indicating that their application might be rejected.
The sisters allege that the men's families tried to pressure them into dropping the police complaint. "They told our father - change the statement - they are about to join the army...their lives will be ruined. What about our lives? Can men like these protect our country?" said Pooja.
For their feisty act in a state notorious for crimes against women, the sisters will be felicitated by Chief Minister ML Khattar on Republic Day and will receive Rs 31,000 each. Their bigger reward is an order that the police and transport department should ensure women's safety.
The driver and conductor of the bus have been suspended. (Post Your Message For Rohtak Sisters Who Fought Men Who Harassed Them)
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