Vikas Barala, son of Haryana BJP chief Subhash Barala, and his law graduate friend Ashish Kumar were remanded to two-day police custody in the Chandigarh stalking case. They are accused of stalking and attempting to kidnap Varnika Kundu, the daughter of an IAS officer on the night of August 4 in an inebriated condition. The duo were produced at the Sector 43 district court in the afternoon. The duo were interrogated for close to three hours at the police station after which non-bailable charges under Section 365 and 511 of the IPC were added to the FIR. Both the accused are already booked for stalking, wrongful restraint, and driving under the influence of alcohol. According to the Chandigarh administration’s report to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Vikas also refused to undergo a medical test and give his blood and urine samples. Vikas and Ashish were initially arrested on Saturday but got bail as they were booked under Motor Vehicle Act and bailable sections of the IPC. Varnika Kundu, 29, had alleged that she was chased for approximately 30 minutes by the accused on Friday night when she was returning home. Earlier this week, Subhash Barala said Varnika is like a daughter to him and said police must take appropriate action against his son. “The moment I learnt that Chandigarh Police wanted Vikas to appear before them as part of the investigation, I asked him to abide by it. Vikas was out of Chandigarh. Therefore, I asked him to come back and go to the police. Earlier also, when Vikas was called by the police for questioning, he went and answered all the queries,” he said. If found guilty, Vikas and Ashish are liable for punishment extending up to seven years along with a fine. (With inputs from Jagpreet Singh and Saurabh Prashar)
