A day after a 29-year-old woman was allegedly stalked by Haryana BJP chief Subhash Barala’s son, Vikas Barala, and his friend Ashish Kumar, Chandigarh Police has said the statement given by the complainant did not attract any charge of kidnapping bid to be included in the FIR. However, the woman’s statement, which was submitted to police at Sector 26 police station, varies from what the police officers are claiming. According to a report by The Indian Express, in her complaint to the police, the woman had specifically mentioned that it was clearly an attempt of kidnapping. “To the SHO, Police Station Sector 26, Chandigarh. Subject — Complaint regarding harassment and attempt to kidnap and outrage the modesty of a girl,” she said in her statement.
While further explaining the incident in detail, she told police, “To me, it was very clear that these boys intended to abduct me even tried to open the door. Kindly file an FIR under the appropriate sections of law.” However, Chandigarh Police did not add the sections on attempt to kidnap. The report also said police put bailable charges, including stalking and wrongful restraint and later released both accused on bail.
Even the Deputy Superintendent of Police (East) Satish Kumar changed his previous statement. He said, “We are taking legal opinion in the matter. The vehicle of the accused is yet impounded.” Describing the horrific experience, the complainant told The Indian Express, “My hands shaking, my back spasming from fear, half in tears, half bewildered, because I didn’t know if I’d make it home tonight.”
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Senior Advocate Rajwinder Singh Bains termed police’s action of putting bailable charges in the FIR as their failure and also said they started the probe with taking weakest action and released the accused on bail. “The intention here is to be seen, and going by the woman’s account it was absolutely to kidnap her, molest her or even rape her. If you chase a woman’s car for seven kilometres, block her way repeatedly, try to forcibly open the doors of her car in the middle of the night, what is the inference to be made out?” Bains told the daily.
Various legal experts are of the opinion that charging the accused under bailable sections was not justified. Even the criminal law experts believe that police should have looked into the intentions behind the act and on the basis of complainant’s statement, the accused should have been charged at least under the attempt to kidnap Sections (365 and 511) of the IPC.