Barala charged with stalking, abduction bid

Ishrat S Banwait

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 13

Vikas Barala and Ashish Kumar have been charged with stalking and attempt to abduct Varnika Kundu. Charges were framed against the duo at the District Courts in Chandigarh today. The charges have been framed under Section 354 D (stalking), Section 365 read with Section 511 (attempt to abduct) and Section 341 (wrongful restraint) of the IPC. The trial will begin on the next hearing on October 27. Both accused were present in the court when the charges were framed. The defence had pleaded that the charge of attempt to abduct must be removed as their offence was covered under wrongful restraint. However, the prosecution had argued that the Section must remain as the accused tried to open the window of Varnika’s car multiple times and Varnika had also said that the accused would have abducted her had the car not been locked. Varnika, a 29-year-old DJ, is the daughter of senior IAS officer Virendra Kundu.

Son of Haryana BJP chief Subhash Barala, Vikas has twice been denied bail and is lodged in Model Jail, Burail. On the night intervening August 4 and August 5, Vikas, a law student at Kurukshetra University, and his friend Ashish, a law graduate, had allegedly followed  Varnika in a Tata Safari and tried to abduct her post-midnight. The girl, who was in an SUV, called up the Chandigarh 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 provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act.