This Article is From Aug 07, 2017

After Stalked Woman's Viral Post, Rahul Gandhi's Jab at BJP: 10 Points

The police have accused Vikas Barala and his friend Ashish Kumar of stalking and drink driving. The First Information Report does not mention any attempt at abduction.

Vikas Barala, son of Haryana BJP chief, has been accused of stalking and trying to kidnap the woman.

Highlights

  • Haryana BJP chief's son accused of trying to kidnap, stalk a woman
  • Manohar Lal Khattar says issue was an 'individual' one
  • Rahul Gandhi tweets BJP government should not collude with guilty
A day after a young woman accused the son of Haryana BJP chief Subhash Barala of stalking and attempting to abduct her, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar spoke up, saying the issue had nothing to do with the leader. It is an individual issue and law will take its own course," he said. Vikas Barala, 23, and his friend had allegedly chased the 29-year-old woman through the streets of Chandigarh on Friday night. The two were arrested and then released on bail.

Here are 10 pointers on the story:

  1. In a Facebook post, titled "Was almost kidnapped on a Chandigarh road last night," the woman, who is the daughter of a bureaucrat, gave spine-chilling details of how the men in a white SUV had chased her down the streets of Chandigarh post-midnight on Saturday.

  2. After the post was widely shared, the opposition demanded that the state BJP chief, Subhash Barala, step down. "Condemn attempt to kidnap&outrage modesty of young lady in Chdgrh. BJPGovt mst punish the guilty;not colludeW/culprits&mindset they represent," (sic) tweeted party vice-president Rahul Gandhi.

  3. The state Congress on Sunday held protests at various places against the incident. "The arrogance of power in the BJP, the party which talks about saving and educating girl child, has reached to such a level that son of a state BJP chief dared to commit such crime," said state Congress chief Ashok Tanwar, who led a protest in Faridabad.

  4. The police have accused Vikas Barala and his friend Ashish Kumar of stalking and drink driving. The First Information Report does not mention any attempt at abduction.

  5. The police say the omission is because the young woman did not mention it in her complaint or before the magistrate. They said they are taking a legal opinion on adding the charge.

  6. The father of the young woman said the political links of the accused makes the situation "complicated", but he said they wanted the guilty punished. "If they (the guilty) aren't punished, there will be other boys who will also be getting these ideas," he told NDTV.

  7. In a statement, Subhash Barala said he had full faith in the law. "We respect the law and law has taken its course. Truth will soon come out through the court. I have full faith in the law," he said.

  8. In her post, the woman said post-midnight on Saturday, she was followed by the car of the assailants from a petrol pump. They repeatedly blocked her car and tried to corner her. Twice, one of the men got off the car and came towards her. When a police car reached her, following her frantic calls, the man was banging on her window and trying to open the door, she said in her Facebook post. The police, she wrote managed to intercept the car and catch the men.

  9. "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 in the post. She added that she was also "lucky", because "I'm not lying raped and murdered in a ditch somewhere".

  10. In a Facebook post, her father also described her horrifying experience. "If we do not persist in trying to bring the guilty to justice, more and more daughters will suffer this hurt... Someone has to stand up. We are standing. So long as we can," he wrote.



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