Clamour to oust Haryana BJP Chief Subhash Barala Grows after son accused of stalking released on bail

CHANDIGARH: The clamour to oust Haryana BJP chief Subhash Barala has grown after his son, who allegedly stalked a woman, was released on bail and charges of abduction against him were dropped.

While Haryana CM Manohar Lal has condemned the incident, he opposed the demand that Barala resign as the state BJP chief. Even BJP general secretary in-charge of Haryana, Anil Jain has ruled out resignation of Barala.

Vikas Barala (23) and his friend Ashish (22) were accused of stalking and abduction in a drunken state by complainant Varnika Kundu, the daughter of a senior IAS officer of Haryana. The investigating officer released both the accused on bail without producing them in court.

Even as the BJP maintains that the law is taking its course, the role of the Chandigarh police was under scrutiny on Sunday after the section pertaining to abduction was said to have been removed from the first information report registered at the Sector 26 police station here.

The dropping of abduction charges by the police has raised eyebrows, given the political clout of the father of the accused, who is also an MLA from Tohana in Haryana. Kundu and her father shared the ordeal she and her family faced on social media on Saturday. She also posted details of the incident on her Facebook page, alleging she “was almost kidnapped on a Chandigarh road last night.” She faced the media on Sunday and gave her version of the incident.

The complainant maintained that she recorded in her statement to the police exactly what had happened. She did not deny or withdraw the allegation of abduction on her Facebook page or during her media interaction. She reiterated that she was not at fault and wanted justice. Her father, Varinder Singh Kundu, additional chief secretary of Haryana, also hinted at political influence by the side of the accused.

“If we do not persist in trying to bring the guilty to justice, more and more daughters will suffer this hurt,” he wrote in a Facebook post on August 5. “Maybe some may not be as lucky as Varnika. Someone has to stand up. We are standing. So long as we can.”