Chandigarh stalking case: Vikas Barala and his friend arrested, to be produced in court

Chandigarh Police on Wednesday arrested Vikas Barala, son of Haryana BJP chief Subhash Barala and the main accused in the stalking case of a senior IAS officer’s daughter last week in Panchkula.

Vikas Barala and his friend, Ashish Kumar, had failed to turn up at the Sector 26 Police station at 11 AM earlier in the day. An article in The Tribune said that the accused showed up three-and-a-half hours late at the police station after being summoned by the SHO.

“Vikas and his friend arrived in a Ford Endeavour amid pouring rain, with Chandigarh Police throwing an elaborate security ring inside the police station to keep away Congress protesters and the media,” the report read.

Both the accused, Barala and Kumar, would be produced in the court soon, according to news reports citing police sources.

Accused of stalking and attempting to kidnap Varnika Kundu last week, the accused allegedly waylaid Kundu’s car while she was on her way back home late at night. Kundu’s presence of mind in calling up the cops while she was being chased by the accused meant that the cops soon arrived at the spot. Both the accused were allegedly drunk at the time, according to reports.

Reportedly, police had earlier pasted a copy of the summon on Barala’s house in Sector 7, Chandigarh.

Addressing a media conference minutes before his son reached the police station for questioning, Subhash Barala said that the police should take appropriate action against his son if he was named in the FIR. He added that there was “no pressure” on the police and Vikas would accept any punishment if he was found guilty.

“Barala left his press conference in a huff, feigning a phone call from his son, after finding it difficult to take the media queries,” the Tribune report said, adding that “the FIR was initially lodged under Section 354-D of the IPC (stalking) and Sections 341 of the IPC (wrongful restraint) while 185 of the Motor Vehicles Act (driving by a drunken person or by a person under the influence of drugs) was added to the case.”

According to a report in The Indian Express, police have also pressed two additional charges of abduction (365/511) against the accused.