Chandigarh 'stalking' incident: BJP rules out Subhash Barala's resignation, re-iterates faith in law

Chandigarh (Haryana) [India], August 7 (ANI): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday dismissed reports of Haryana BJP Chief Subhash Barala's resignation, after his son, Vikas Barala, was arrested on Saturday on the charges of stalking and harassing an IAS officer's daughter in Chandigarh. "BJP Haryana Chief Subhash Barala has not resigned. The matter is related to his son. The law will take its own course," BJP sources revealed. Earlier, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar too opined that the incident had no involvement of Subhash Barala. However, he assured that the accused, of found guilty, will be punished. "I have complete faith on the Chandigarh Police. Justice will prevail. The accused will be punished once found guilty. This is my official stand on this matter. This case has nothing to do with Subhash Barala. Such act is highly condemnable if proved correct," the Chief Minister told the media. A case was registered by the Chandigarh Police against Vikas and other youth under Section 354 D (stalking) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 185 (Motor Vehicle Act) of the CRPC on the basis of complaint filed by the woman. Narrating the horrific ordeal, the girl, who is the daughter of an IAS officer, told the media that she was lucky for not being the daughter of a common man. "I'm lucky, it seems, to not be the daughter of a common man, because what chance would they have against such VIPs? I'm also lucky, because I'm not lying raped and murdered in a ditch somewhere," the woman wrote in a Facebook post, pointing that the two men, she accused of perturbing her, "are from influential families with political connections." In the latest development, the CCTV footage of five cameras reportedly went missing, thus resulting in further criticism of the BJP-led state government. "Now new things have come out that five out of seven CCTV cameras were non functional. How have they suddenly become non functional? We have lost the importance piece of evidence," Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala told ANI. Furthermore, he accused the BJP of pressurising Chandigarh administration to protect the son of the Haryana BJP Chief. Surjewala also alleged that the BJP is hatching a conspiracy to shield the Haryana state chief's son, who harassed and stalked an IAS officer's daughter in an alleged inebriated state in Chandigarh. "This is extremely clear that BJP is pressurising Chandigarh administration and hatching conspiracy to protect the son of its political leader. May we ask on behalf of people of India if drunken youth, goons chase a girl for seven kilometers, attempt to block her car and forcibly open the door and try to enter the car, is it not the case of abduction and outraging the modest of a woman? Why have these offences not been lodged? The Prime Minister and chief minister must answer these questions to the people of country," he said. (ANI)