CHANDIGARH: The 23-year-old Vikas Barala, son of Haryana BJP president Subhash Barala, and his friend Ashish Kumar, who are accused in the Varnika Kundu stalking case were remanded in judicial custody till August 25.
The police had submitted an application to a Chandigarh court seeking their judicial remand for fourteen days. The court approved the application today.
Barala's advocate Surya Parkash confirmed that his client has not applied for the bail so far.
Both were arrested on charges under section 365 of the IPC (attempt to kidnap) on Wednesday.
Police said both men admitted that they were consuming alcohol in their SUV in Sector 7 of Chandigarh on the night of August 4, when a car stopped adjacent to their vehicle.
Ashish told the police that there was a girl in the car and they wanted to see her face to make sure whether or not they knew her. Thus, they decided to follow her, both men claimed.
Both repeatedly told the police that it was never their intention to stalk her or kidnap her. They said since they were drunk, they were not fully aware of what was happening.
However, they admitted that they were indeed traveling in the SUV, which was seen in the CCTV footage, obtained by the police.
Meanwhile, supporters of Vikas Barala launched a campaign on social media seeking justice for him. A Facebook page called "Justice for Vikas Barala" has come up. His supporters claim that Barala has been wrongly implicated in the case.
A video of a disco where Varnika Kundu is the DJ was shared on the page. Many of his supporters reiterated claims that Varnika is a close friend of former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda's son. Some also claimed that she is a friend of Gurmehar Kaur (the Lady Shri Ram College student who stood against the ABVP after violent clashes at Ramjas College in Delhi University). His supporters claim that he followed her car as it had hit their SUV earlier.
Both Vikas and Ashish are to be produced before the court again on August 24.