What happened?

29-year-old victim, who is a disc-jockey by profession, was chased by accused, Vikas Barala, 23 and his friend Ashish Kumar, 27 in a white SUV around midnight from Sector-8 in Chandigarh.

Describing her ordeal in a Facebook post, the victim wrote how the two men tried to block her way and open her car door multiple times in an alleged attempt of kidnapping.   

“There were 2 guys inside the SUV, and they seemed to really be enjoying harassing a lone girl in the middle of the night, judging by how often their car swerved,just enough to scare me that it might hit me”,  she wrote. 

However, after complaining to the Chandigarh police, both the accused were arrested on charges of stalking (read Section 354D of IPC) and for drunk driving under Section 185 of the Motor Vehicle Act but were soon granted bail on Saturday as the offenses were bailable in nature. 

“The woman called the Police Control Room at about 12.35 am and within 10 minutes, the accused were caught. Later, after receiving a formal complaint, we registered a criminal case against both of them and arrested them. Since the charges against them were bailable, both were released on bail,” DSP Satish Kumar was quoted as saying by Indian Express.

The accused is son of a BJP leader

The main accused, Vikas Barala, 23, is the son of Haryana state BJP chief Subhash Barala. He is a student of LLB in Kurukshetra University. 

Post the arrest, a medical examination confirmed that he and his friend were both drunk  and were driving the SUV which was registered in the name of a relative, reported Hindustan Times. 

As soon as the news of his arrest hit the headlines, opposition parties have been up in arms demanding Subhash Barala’s resignation. 

Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar while addressing to media said

“I came to know about this incident. Chandigarh Police has filed the complaint and I believe they will take appropriate action. This matter is not related with Subhash Barala but with an individual. So action would be taken against his son.”

Victim and her father wants justice

Daughter of a senior IAS officer in Chandigarh, the woman in her post urged all the women to be proactive when it comes to their safety. 

“The 2 boys, who of course, are from influential families with political connections, have been arrested and the complaint has been filed. I’m lucky, it seems, to not be the daughter of a common man, because what chance would they have against such VIPs?”, she wrote. 

Echoing similar views, her father in another Facebook post mentioned how efficient the Chandigarh police was and how they are willing to bring this case to a conclusion. 

“As would be expected, the goons are from influential families. We all know most such cases of harassment go unpunished and even unreported. Most people would not want or dare to take on goons from influential families. I feel if people with some privileges like us cannot stand up to such criminals, nobody in India can. More importantly, I will be failing in my duty as a father to my daughter if I did not stand with her completely in this matter,” he wrote. 

“Influential families can sometimes take desperate measures to discredit or disable the complainants. Sane friends may advise us against our course of action. We may be foolhardy.” he further wrote. 

(Feature image source: PTI/Representational)