Cyber cell to trace more passengers to get independent version of incident

Baffled by contradictory statements in the Rohtak bus molestation case, the police are now banking in their cyber cell to dig out the truth by reaching out to more passengers to get their independent version of the November 28 incident.

Baffled by contradictory statements in the Rohtak bus molestation case, the police are now banking in their cyber cell to dig out the truth by reaching out to more passengers to get their independent version of the November 28 incident.

So far, nine persons have deposed before police in the molestation case, in which sisters Aarti and Pooja, students of a local government here have alleged molestation by three boys of Asan village. They have submitted that accused Kuldeep, Mohit and Deepak are innocent. Seven of them who deposited affidavits said it was a dispute on a bus seat and none of the sisters were molested.

However, the girls have rubbished passengers’ versions, who supported the accused, and dubbed it a pressure tactic to make them withdraw their complaint. They said the affidavits submitted by passengers were fake and arranged by the accused side to make the molestation case weak.

A police official, who is in know of the case investigations, said after receiving baffling statements from both sides the investigation team has activated its cyber cell to trace more passengers after identifying them through the tower location of mobile phones on the said route.

Sources said so far police have identified some passengers and they have called them to record their statements to get the real version of the story to establish the truth.

An official in the cyber cell said establishing the identity of passengers in a moving roadways bus on November 28 through mobile tower location is a daunting task for them, but it is the tested formula in police probes that has helped in bringing out truth in the past.

Rohtak range inspector general of police Alok Kumar Roy said they have been looking into the case from all angles.

Reacting to the passengers’ version in support of the accused, Attar Singh Panwar, the victims’ advocate, told HT that they have ample proof to prove that the girls were molested and would reveal it at the right time. He said they have kept police in the know of it.

Police looking into smear campaign on social media

Rohtak SP Shashank Anand said police would verify the complaints of victims Aarti and Pooja that they were being defamed in social networking sites — Facebook and WhatsApp. He said accused would be booked under relevant sections of the Information Technology Act. Notably, a smear campaign has been launched in the virtual world against the girls who lodged complaint against their molesters.

‘Send girls mobiles for forensic examination’

Sandeep Rathee, lawyer of accused Kuldeep, Mohit and Deepak, who were booked under Sections 354, 323 and 34 of the IPC has sent a letter to the police chief and urged him to take possession of the girls’ mobile phones. Rathee claimed that police should send mobile phones of Aarti and Pooja to forensic laboratory to find out as whether they themselves got the video of thrashing of boys from their phone shot or not. He claimed that it could be a vital clue for police in substantiating the victim’s version that an unidentified married women shot video for them.