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Deepak, Kuldeep and Mohit were accused by two sisters, labelled the ‘Rohtak bravehearts’, of sexual harassment in a Haryana Roadways bus.

New Delhi: Nearly four years ago, two sisters from Rohtak, Aarti and Pooja, beat up three young men in a crowded Haryana Roadways bus over alleged sexual harassment. The incident was caught on video and widely shared, resulting in the sisters being labelled ‘Rohtak Bravehearts’.

The three youngsters Deepak, Kuldeep and Mohit — all college students from Haryana’s Asana village — were demonised as molesters in newspaper reports, TV debates and in the unsparing court of social media.

Since then, the trio’s claims of innocence have been vindicated by courts twice — first by a lower court in 2017 and then, on appeal by the Haryana government, by a sessions court last month — but the taint of that episode continues to hold their life hostage, they say.

Also read: Nightmare on Route 544: Men use this DTC bus to ‘sexually harass’ DU college students

“Ever since that incident, the bad days of my life began,” said Kuldeep, “All the girls of my village began to view me as a criminal and harasser.”

Deepak and Kuldeep, both 24-year-olds now, say the episode sounded the death knell for their dream to join the Indian Army.

“We worked very hard to clear the physical exam. But soon after the national media picked up the video, we were told we can’t write the written paper,” said Kuldeep.

“To admit us,” Deepak said, “they (the Army) required a permission letter from the court. The court refused to give us any such letter because we hadn’t been declared innocent at the time.”

“Now even if we want to apply to the Army, it will be pointless because we are past the age limit.”

‘Rohtak bravehearts’

When the video of the episode blew up in November 2014 in a nation grappling with a daily deluge of sexual assault reports, the sisters earned plaudits from not just the media, but also several leaders.

“All the girls should do what these sisters did,” BJP leader Uma Bharti had said. Union minister Nirmala Sithraman and Manipur governor Najma Heptulla also praised them. The then chairperson of the National Commission for Women, Lalitha Kumarmangalam, was quoted congratulating the girls and their “guts to tackle molesters”.

Manohar Parrikar, then defence minister, said of the accused: “There is no place for such men in the Army.”

In December 2014, the Haryana government announced a bravery award and a cash prize of Rs 51,000 for the sisters, to be given to them on Republic Day.

Case in court

But soon enough, doubts began to cloud the account offered by the sisters as other passengers of the bus stepped up in support of the boys. They said the argument had started when Deepak, Kuldeep and Mohit asked the girls to vacate a seat for an elderly passenger.

A second video of an earlier incident also surfaced, showing the girls beating up another alleged harasser at a park, and questions arose over who filmed it. Then it was discovered that the girls had got three other people booked on similar allegations earlier.

With the case looking less clear, the award announced by the Haryana government was put on hold on account of the “impending inquiry”.

In March 2017, a court cited the witness statements as well as “inconsistencies” in the sisters’ testimony to discharge the three, that is, dismiss the chargesheet before the case could go to trial. Also, the court said, the girls had failed the lie detector test, and the boys had passed.

When the Haryana government filed an appeal, a sessions court reiterated the verdict.

Advocate Attar Singh Panwar, who represented the sisters in 2017, dismissed the boys’ claim, telling ThePrint that the court “has done complete injustice with the sisters”.

“There was no reason to discharge the boys,” he said.

“Any legal entity will tell you that they had to be charged at least on the basis of prima facie evidence, under IPC section 323 (voluntarily causing hurt),” he added.

“If the court had acquitted the boys after conducting a proper investigation, that would’ve been a different case. But they have simply been discharged,” Panwar said.

Accusing the court of favouritism, Panwar said the sisters will “definitely appeal” the outcome in the Punjab & Haryana High Court.

‘Not getting jobs’

The three young men are finding it hard to shake off the taint in a world where employers often run a Google search on job applicants to gauge their antecedents.

Kuldeep, who was a student of Jat College when the episode happened in 2014, said he hadn’t been able to get a job. “No one is willing to give me a job despite courts clearing my name not once, but twice,” he added.

Deepak, who was in his second year as a Bachelor’s student, added, “I come from a very humble family. My parents stopped me from attending college because they were worried I will get embroiled in another such case.

“As a result,” he said, “It took me five years to complete college.”

Also read: Comedian Utsav Chakraborty faces multiple charges of sexual harassment, even from minors

His repeated attempts to get a job have proved futile. “All job applications require us to fill forms about past criminal cases,” said Deepak, “The minute a potential employer hears about this case, they refuse to hire us.”

‘Promises’

Deepak claimed that a while before the court discharged them in 2017, village elders raised their case with Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.

At the meeting, he added, Khattar promised the trio jobs in the state government if and when the accused were acquitted.

“But we haven’t heard from him since the court verdict,” he added.

Saying that his family was struggling to make ends meet, Deepak said they could really benefit from him getting a job.

“The three of us should get a compensation for the defamation. But more importantly, we would really like a job to sustain ourselves,” he added.

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