Vikas Barala walks out on bail

Ishrat S Banwait

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 12

After more than five months in custody, Vikas Barala walked out of the model jail in Burail carrying books. Accused of stalking and attempting to abduct 29-year-old Varnika Kundu, the Haryana BJP chief’s son has been in custody since August 9, 2017. He was granted bail by the High Court yesterday after the District Courts refused it four times. However, he refused to comment, saying that the matter was pending in the court.

As an army of mediapersons waited anxiously, at around 7.25 pm, Vikas was seen walking towards the gate supporting a cap on his head. The police allowed him to exit via a side entrance but the media rushed towards him. While being coaxed with questions and requests to say something, he finally said, “Kuch nahin, mamla abhi court mein hai (nothing, the matter is still in the court)”.

As soon as he said this, his family members and friends, who were there to take him, grabbed him, put him in a car and rushed out. All this unfolded in a matter of seconds and it seemed like Vikas was being abducted. He was put in a sedan bearing a Sangrur registration number followed by two more cars, which bore Haryana registration numbers. The cars left the spot in full speed, neglecting traffic rules.

However, less than 20 minutes after he walked out, a press note was issued claiming that Vikas visited a temple after he left the jail and met his family there. His statement in the press note states, “When you know you are innocent and have not done anything wrong, you don’t fear anything. My unflinching faith in God and concern for my family’s honour saw me through the five months I spent in custody. I would now like to concentrate on my law studies and try to make up for the five months lost”.

The note added that he was angry and in disbelief at being rearrested. It also says, “Knowing well that I am 100 per cent innocent, I calmed myself during my custody and convinced myself to keep a positive frame of mind. My routine during the custody was to offer my prayers and study.”

Vikas did not go to his father’s government residence in Sector 7 and his family refused to disclose his location. The security guards outside the official residence said there was no one inside the house and that the family had left yesterday. However, multiple cars could be seen parked there.

Co-accused applies for bail

On Friday, the co-accused in the case, Ashish Kumar, applied for bail at the District Courts. He was arrested along with Vikas and had also applied for bail previously, but it was denied. The bail plea will be taken up on Monday.