[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]In a series of Facebook posts which have gone viral, Virender Kundu, additional chief secretary in the BJP-led Haryana government, and his daughter – Varnika – describe the terrifying events of Friday night when Haryana BJP chief Subhash Barala’s son, Vikas, allegedly stalked Varnika. Vikas and his friend Ashish were arrested on Saturday but let out on bail.

In an admirable display of courage, Varnika Kundu – the woman who was, on Friday night, stalked and “almost kidnapped” by Haryana BJP chief Subhash Barala’s son Vikas while returning from Chandigarh to her home in Panchkula – and her father, Virender Kundu, took to Facebook to recount the ordeal.

In a series of Facebook posts that have gone viral since, Virender Kundu, additional chief secretary (tourism) in the ML Khattar-led BJP government, went on to hail his daughter for taking on the “worst form of chauvinism manifested in our society”.

The BJP government in Haryana has been on the back-foot ever since news broke about the identity of those accused and chief minister ML Khattar has asserted that Subhash Barala could not be held responsible for the alleged actions of his son.

However, Virender Kundu made it clear that “I do not believe the parents of these men (accused Vikas and Ashish) are responsible for their crimes” but added: “We will not interfere with the investigation or the prosecution, just as we do not want the accused to influence the investigation in any way”.

Varnika Kundu and Vikas Barala

In one of the several Facebook posts that Virender wrote since Monday morning, he says tells Varnika that his difficulties on account of her filing a police complaint “are nothing compared to yours” and, in a touching paternal gesture says: “We will not let criminals or their stooges affect your value system, or the quality of the life you have chosen for your selves”.

On August 5, in a brave move that is unfortunately not seen enough in cases of stalking, sexual harassment and violence, Varnika had taken to Facebook to give a vivid description of the ordeal that she faced in the late hours of the previous day.

Read Varnika’s account here:[/vc_column_text][vc_raw_html]JTNDaWZyYW1lJTIwc3JjJTNEJTIyaHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZ3d3cuZmFjZWJvb2suY29tJTJGcGx1Z2lucyUyRnBvc3QucGhwJTNGaHJlZiUzRGh0dHBzJTI1M0ElMjUyRiUyNTJGd3d3LmZhY2Vib29rLmNvbSUyNTJGVmFybmlrYUt1bmR1JTI1MkZwb3N0cyUyNTJGMTAxNTU3NTkyNTAzOTYyODIlMjZ3aWR0aCUzRDUwMCUyMiUyMHdpZHRoJTNEJTIyNTAwJTIyJTIwaGVpZ2h0JTNEJTIyNTY3JTIyJTIwc3R5bGUlM0QlMjJib3JkZXIlM0Fub25lJTNCb3ZlcmZsb3clM0FoaWRkZW4lMjIlMjBzY3JvbGxpbmclM0QlMjJubyUyMiUyMGZyYW1lYm9yZGVyJTNEJTIyMCUyMiUyMGFsbG93VHJhbnNwYXJlbmN5JTNEJTIydHJ1ZSUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRmlmcmFtZSUzRQ==[/vc_raw_html][vc_column_text]The accused, Vikas and Ashish, had been arrested by the Chandigarh police after Varnika filed a complaint against the at Chandigarh’s Sector 26 police station under Section 354 D (stalking) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 185 of the Motor Vehicle Act (driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs), were let out on bail the same day.

While sternly standing behind his brave daughter, Virender also reached out to people through his Facebook posts to seek their support in his family’s quest for ensuring that the guilty are punished in accordance with legal provisions but more importantly also addressed the larger issue of harassment of women saying: “The issue is, does our country allow a woman to live as a free and equal citizen, and if she is wronged, does it give her enough confidence to even claim justice? If not, we are no better than a lawless, barbaric society”.

Read Virender Kundu’s Facebook post here:[/vc_column_text][vc_raw_html]JTNDaWZyYW1lJTIwc3JjJTNEJTIyaHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZ3d3cuZmFjZWJvb2suY29tJTJGcGx1Z2lucyUyRnBvc3QucGhwJTNGaHJlZiUzRGh0dHBzJTI1M0ElMjUyRiUyNTJGd3d3LmZhY2Vib29rLmNvbSUyNTJGdnNrdW5kdSUyNTJGcG9zdHMlMjUyRjEwMjEyMDA4MzMzMzgxMjk1JTI2d2lkdGglM0Q1MDAlMjIlMjB3aWR0aCUzRCUyMjUwMCUyMiUyMGhlaWdodCUzRCUyMjI4NyUyMiUyMHN0eWxlJTNEJTIyYm9yZGVyJTNBbm9uZSUzQm92ZXJmbG93JTNBaGlkZGVuJTIyJTIwc2Nyb2xsaW5nJTNEJTIybm8lMjIlMjBmcmFtZWJvcmRlciUzRCUyMjAlMjIlMjBhbGxvd1RyYW5zcGFyZW5jeSUzRCUyMnRydWUlMjIlM0UlM0MlMkZpZnJhbWUlM0UlMEE=[/vc_raw_html][vc_column_text]

Case getting more controversial by the minute:

While the Haryana BJP chief Subhash Barala has been incommunicado since news of his son’s arrest in the stalking case went viral, his deputy Ramveer Bhatti came out with a shocking statement, on Monday, questioning why Varnika “allowed to stay out late”. “Parents must take care of their children… they shouldn’t allow them to roam at night. Children should come home on time, why stay out at night? Bhatti said.

It has also emerged that while the Chandigarh police arrested Vikas and Ashish after Varnika’s complaint and initially charged the accused under five different sections of the Indian Penal Code, two sections – IPC Sections 365 and 511 – which relate to kidnapping were later dropped, ostensibly to let the duo seek immediate bail.

The Chandigarh police later explained that it has asked for legal opinion on whether the two charges that were dropped should be re-introduced in the complaint and if they get an affirmative response the charges will be invoked following which Vikas and Ashish could be arrested again.

Curiously, the Chandigarh police also said, on Monday, that there was no CCTV footage available of the incident even though there were nine such cameras installed in the route along which Varnika was stalked on Friday night. Deputy superintendent of police, Satish Kumar told the media that they tried to get CCTV footage from the nine cameras but “all were found to be non-functional”.

The Congress, which is the principal Opposition party in Haryana, has alleged that the Chandigarh police – which comes under the Union home ministry – were trying to cover up the matter to shield Subhash Barala and his son. “The home ministry which directly controls the Chandigarh administration, and the police, are conspiring to hush up the matter to protect the Haryana BJP president and his son,” said Congress party’s media in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala, who is also a senior leader from Haryana. Surjewala also questioned why the CCTV cameras were non-functional in the first place and alleged that “due to the police and administration’s neglect of infrastructure that is meant to monitor criminal activity, crucial video evidence of what happened that night is believed to be lost”.

Never one to miss a chance for sound bytes, BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP, Subramanian Swamy too jumped into the row claiming he had asked his associate, advocate AP Jagga in Chandigarh to explore the possibility of filing a PIL in the case.

“We have to look at what action the Chandigarh and Haryana police take in next 72 hours in the case and then we will decide if we need to file the PIL. We will issue a statement in this regard…We want the police to book the accused under appropriate sections of law”, Jagga told media persons in Chandigarh shortly after Swamy announced his intent on Twitter about filing the litigation.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]