Chandigarh Stalking Case: BJP leader's son Vikas Barala granted bail

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday granted bail to Vikas Barala, who was booked on the charges of stalking and attempting to abduct a 29-year-old woman. Vikas is the son of Haryana BJP chief Subhash Barala.

"The bail of Vikas Barala has been approved by Justice Lisa Gill," Barala's counsel Vinod Ghai said here. He said that the defence told the court that the accused would not influence anybody in the case.

"No application was moved by the prosecution in the court on whether the alleged accused has so far tried to influence anybody in the matter," he said. Ghai claimed that no case of attempting to abduct Varnika Kundu, the daughter of a senior IAS officer, was made out against his client.

He alleged that at the time of registeration of the FIR, the woman's father and her counsel were present at the police station and there were chances that the entire story was manipulated. Her cross-examination was held in the district court on January 9.

His petition for bail had been dismissed four times by a trial court.

On Tuesday, 9 January, the victim, Varnika Kundu, was grilled by Barala's counsel for five hours and asked nearly 500 questions about her personal life - from the friends she has and to whether her mother had been told of the incident when it took place.

On 4 August 2017, when Kundu was returning home from work and at around 11.15 pm in Chandigarh, Barala, along with a friend, allegedly stalked her by chasing her car.

The incident had triggered widespread outrage and a spate of protests across the country.

Charges have already been framed against Vikas Barala, and his friend Ashish Kumar, in connection with the stalking case involving the daughter of a senior IAS officer.

Vikas Barala and his friend Ashish Kumar were arrested in the month of August in connection with the case.

OneIndia News