Facing trial in stalking case, BJP MP’s son appointed law officer in Haryana

Chandigarh, July 23 Rajya Sabha MP Subhash Barala’s son Vikas Barala, who is facing trial in a stalking case, has been appointed as Assistant Advocate-General in Haryana at the advocate-general’s Delhi office. He’s currently on bail.

Vikas Barala and his friend Ashish have been facing trial for stalking and chasing in a bid to kidnap Varnika Kundu, the daughter of a Haryana IAS officer.

The case has been listed for hearing in a Chandigarh court on August 2.

The stalking case had brought national attention to issues of women’s safety and the political influence in legal proceedings. The police in 2017 filed a charge sheet against Vikas Barala, son of then Haryana BJP chief Subhash Barala, and his friend by citing 48 witnesses.

The complainant and her father, Virender Kundu, are the prime witnesses. The duo has vowed to fight for justice, saying they will not bow down under any pressure.

The list of witnesses also includes the friend of Varnika to whom she was talking on the phone, the police personnel who reached the spot and held the accused, and the police officers who picked up Varnika’s call on the emergency helpline number.

The other high-profile appointments in the Advocate-General’s office include Anu Pal, the younger sister of Justice Lisa Gill of the Punjab and Haryana High Court and the sister of Chandigarh Home Secretary Mandeep Singh Brar; Swati Batra, daughter of former HC judge Lalita Batra; Ruchi Sekhri, a BJP leader from Punjab; and Nitin Kaushal, son of Punjab’s former chief secretary Sarvesh Kaushal.

In all, the appointments of more than 95 law officers as Assistant Advocates-Generals, Deputy Advocates-General, Senior Deputy Advocates-General and Additional Advocates-General have been notified.

Setting aside claims of any political pressure to influence the investigation in the case involving his son, BJP leader Subhash Barala in 2017 said the victim “is like his daughter”. He said the BJP believes in women’s rights and freedom.

“Varnika is like my daughter. There is no pressure to influence the investigation. Law should take its own course. BJP is a party which believes in women’s rights and freedom,” he had said.

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