Barala denied bail, 3rd time in 3 months

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 23

Accused of stalking and attempting to abduct 29-year-old Varnika Kundu in August, Vikas Barala has been denied bail, yet again. This is the third time in three months that Barala’s bail plea has been rejected by the court. He was earlier denied bail on August 29 and September 23.

Son of Haryana BJP chief Subhash Barala, Vikas has been behind bars since August 9 along with his friend Ashish Kumar. The bail application had stated that charges had been framed in the case and he should be granted bail. However, the prosecution had said that mere framing of charges was no ground for bail as it did not change the circumstances of the case.

The charges were framed under Section 354 D (stalking), Section 365 read with Section 511 (attempt to abduct) and Section 341 (wrongful restraint) of the IPC along with relevant Sections of the Motor Vehicles Act. The defence had argued that investigation into the case was complete and keeping Barala in custody would not serve any purpose. However, the prosecution had replied that the investigation was not complete yet as the CFSL report was yet to arrive.

On the night intervening August 4 and August 5, Vikas, a law student of Kurukshetra University, and his friend Ashish, a law graduate, allegedly followed  Varnika in a Tata Safari and tried to abduct her past midnight. The girl, who was in an SUV, called the police and the boys were nabbed.

At the time of the incident, they were reportedly under the influence of liquor. 

Both were booked for stalking and wrongful confinement initially and under the provisions of Motor Vehicles Act. Later, the police added two more Sections, including attempt to abduct, and the duo were re-arrested on August 9.