Under fire for allegedly shielding Haryana BJP chief’s son in a stalking case, Chandigarh Administration on Tuesday submitted its report to the Centre pertaining to the case.
Following the allegations of opposition parties against Chandigarh Police for working under pressure of BJP in the case and the issue making national headlines, the Ministry of Home Affairs had a day before sought a report from the Chandigarh Administration in the stalking case.
Sources said the Chandigarh Administration had submitted a report giving a detailed account of investigations conducted in the matter so far, registration of FIR, and complainant, Varnika Kundu’s statement.
With opposition planning to raise the issue in Parliament, Home Minister Rajnath Singh may also make a statement on Wednesday on the incident of alleged stalking of a woman in Chandigarh.
The son of Haryana BJP chief Subhash Barala, Vikas and his friend Ashish Kumar were arrested for allegedly stalking Varnika Kundu on Friday midnight.
Notably, the Chandigarh Police has been accused of not adding Section 365 (kidnapping) and 511 (attempting to commit offences punishable with imprisonment for life or other imprisonment) in the FIR registered against the duo, even as the complainant in her Facebook post had alleged an attempt to kidnap.
As the case was registered for stalking under Section 354-D (stalking) of IPC, which is a bailable offence, the two were granted bail within few hours after being arrested on Friday midnight. While the opposition has accused the Chandigarh Police of bowing down to political pressure, the police officials have refuted such claims.
Defending the UT Administration and Police, Chandigarh BJP MP Kirron Kher on Tuesday downplayed the opposition’s allegation and said “I don’t think that police are diluting the case. Police are very supportive. Victim and her father have praised efforts of Chandigarh police.”
FIR was filed after her statement. Police will work accordingly in this case, she added. Meanwhile, Chandigarh police has retrieved footage of five CCTV cameras on the route on which Varnika, 29 was allegedly chased by the two accused. The footage showed the victim’s black car being followed by a white SUV.
The police had received flak earlier on Monday after they said the CCTVs along the route were non-functional.