Varnika Kundu stalking case: Vikas Barala gets bail from HC

Chandigarh: Over five months after he was arrested for stalking and attempt to abduct the daughter of a senior IAS officer, Vikas Barala, the son of Haryana BJP president Subhash Barala, was on Thursday granted bail by the Punjab and Haryana High Court here.

A single judge bench of Justice Lisa Gill granted him and his friend and co-accused Ashish Kumar bail.

The bail plea of the duo was rejected four times earlier by the trial court. Both were arrested on August 9.

Both were booked under non-bailable offences, including Section 365 (kidnapping or abduction with intent to confine person) and Section 511 (attempt to commit offence punishable with life imprisonment) of the Indian Penal Code.

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Varnika Kundu, 29, daughter of Haryana Additional Chief Secretary V.S. Kundu, had complained to police that the two accused, who were drunk, had stalked and intimidated her and tried to abduct her on August 4-5 night.

They had chased Varnika, who was in her car and driving back from Chandigarh to adjoining town of Panchkula around midnight, in their SUV.

Varnika, a professional DJ, had told the police that the youth had tried to stop her car and harassed her. She called up the Police Control Room (PCR) after which the youth were apprehended.

Vikas and Ashish, who have both studied law, have denied the charges.