Chandigarh stalking: Amarinder goes on the offensive as questions pile up on police conduct

The Congress has launched a multi-pronged attack on the BJP leadership in Haryana on the issue of Chandigarh Police going 'soft' on the son of Haryana BJP president Subhash Barala. Barala's son Vikas was arrested for stalking Varnika Kundu, daughter of a senior IAS officer posted in the state, but was subsequently given bail.

After attacks coming from the party's central and state leadership, it was the turn of the Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh to join the chorus for a free and fair investigation in the case. Meanwhile, protests by both the civil society organisations and local units of various political parties are continuing on the ground level.

Amarinder's statement is significant in this case because first, The union territory of Chandigarh is the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana. Punjab has been laying claim to the city.

Second, over the last one year, Amarinder has emerged as the most powerful voice against the BJP bigwigs on various issues across this region.

Amarinder's point

The Punjab CM said the police should be allowed to investigate the high profile case freely and independently and no attempt should be made to dilute the charges against the two accused, one of whom is the son of the Haryana BJP president.

He added that no political interference should be brooked in the case and the police should have complete authority to probe the matter in a neutral manner, as per the due process of law.

Amarinder has underlined that action needs to be taken against the accused to ensure justice for the girl and also to send out a strong signal that misuse of political powers to undermine any institution, including the police, is not acceptable.

Vikas Barala and his friend Ashish Kumar were nabbed by the police for allegedly stalking the victim in a drunken state. They managed to secure a bail because the Police did not apply non-bailable sections, related to kidnapping and sexual harassment, in the matter. The police now say that it is not averse to adding these sections if it gets the legal opinion to do so.

There are reports coming of Barala saying that the victim is like his daughter and there is no attempt to influence the investigations in any way.

“There is no pressure from me or the BJP in this case till now and it will not happen in the future,” Barala reportedly said.

Meanwhile, what are the cops doing?

The police remained holed up on the issue as questions keep mounting in the case. The public have been asking why it is taking the cops so long to get legal opinion in the matter.

“It is a straight case where two plus two adds up to four. There is no need for a legal opinion here. The intent of the drunk accused is clear and so are the attempts by the BJP leadership to save the accused,” says social activist Kavita Vidrohi of Jan Sangharsh Manch (Haryana).

Her organisation held a protest on the issue at Thanesar bus stand in Kurukshetra on Tuesday.

The second issue that has perplexed everyone is the flip-flop of the authorities in Chandigarh on the CCTV footage related to the incident.

Having earlier said that majority of the CCTV cameras on the road, on which the alleged stalking took place were non-functional, a statement came from the police late at night saying that the CCTV footage had been retrieved.

The one line statement read –

“Chandigarh police has retrieved footage of 5 CCTV cameras on the route capturing the chase of victim's vehicle by the alleged vehicle.”

It is being questioned whether this was a deliberate act to mislead the media, and those concerned, with the developments in the case.

And in all this chaos, Chandigarh is all set to get a new woman Senior Superintendent of Police Jagdale Nilambari Vijay from the Punjab IPS cadre anytime. She will be replacing Eish Singhal.

BJP image takes a hit

Meanwhile, the BJP's image continues to take a beating across the spectrum in this case.

Social activists claim that the 'facade' of the party of being an all-powerful political force having an 'ideal model' of politics that stands on cultural nationalism has started coming off.

“It may take a long time but the process has started. The developments will have a reflection of what this party stands for in the days to come,” says academician and activist Manjit Singh.

“The facade is peeling off as the common man has started questioning the mindset that has been displayed by the party in this case. On one side you find huge posters of 'Beti Bachao' across Haryana and on the other, the party president's son is involved in such an act. Then the entire party lines up to denounce the voices seeking Barala's resignation. The police dilutes the charges. The party leaders come out with statements saying that women should not go out at night and there are attempts to shame the victim. Their complete mindset is on display for everyone to see,” adds Kavita Vidrohi.

She disclosed that the message that has gone down in the society is that if such a thing can happen to a girl coming from the privileged class who was travelling in a car, the ordinary women on the street are definitely not safe.

The elders are pointing out that it is the same BJP that had sought the resignation of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh when his grandson's name had figured in the infamous Katia case of 1994 where a French tourist was allegedly abducted and molested.

They are also pointing that the BJP had also launched an agitation thrice seeking the resignation of Congress leader Venod Sharma over his son Manu Sharma's involvement in the Jessica Lal murder case in 1999. And pointed out that it is on the same grounds that Barala must resign immediately.

Edited by Jhinuk Sen