Haryana govt puts award for Rohtak sisters on hold

Days after announcing an award for two Rohtak sisters who took on their alleged molesters in a moving bus, the Haryana government on Thursday put its plans on hold pending an inquiry after some co-passengers said the men were innocent.

Police arrested the three men following nationwide outrage after a video of the two women beating up the men went viral. The video was shot by a co-passenger on her mobile phone.

However, during investigation, a few passengers told police that the men were being wrongly accused, prompting the government to put on hold its decision to fete the women until the probe was over.

“The state government will get the matter investigated in a free and transparent manner and the decision on awarding the two Rohtak sisters on Republic Day will be taken based on the outcome of police reports,” said chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar.

The parents of the accused men met Khattar at Rohtak to seek an impartial probe into the matter.

The government also asked the bus driver and conductor, who had been suspended following the emergence of the video, to resume work until the police probe was over.

Another video showing the sisters beating up a boy in a park that surfaced on Tuesday triggered controversy after two people claiming to be witnesses said the girls abused and tore off the boy's clothes after he asked them why they were wasting their time in the park instead of attending college.

A girl accompanying them recorded the incident on camera, they told police.