Chandigarh Forty-two days after the infamous Chandigarh stalking case of 29-year-old disc jockey Varnika Kundu came to fore on August 5 night, the accused Vikas Barala, 23, and Ashish Verma, 27, will face trial for abduction, stalking and wrong restraint among other charges.
In its 200-page challan that comprises a charge-sheet of seven pages, before the court judicial magistrate first class (JMIC) Barjinder Pal Singh, the police have cited 48 witnesses against Barala, the son of the Haryana BJP chief, and his friend Verma. They were booked on the complain of disc jockey Varnika.
The chargesheet includes disclosure statements of another five pages, statements of another 22 people, maps, footage and photographs. A report from the Central Forensics Science Laboratory (CFSL) is awaited.
{{/usCountry}}The chargesheet includes disclosure statements of another five pages, statements of another 22 people, maps, footage and photographs. A report from the Central Forensics Science Laboratory (CFSL) is awaited.
{{/usCountry}}Victim’s statement basis for chargesheet
The main point highlighted in the chargesheet is the complaint of Varnika and the fact that she immediately informed her father stating that “she wouldn’t have been present in front of him” had she not shown presence of mind. The fact that the father accompanied the victim at night to lodge a complaint has also been emphasised in the chargesheet.
Five chief witnesses, 22 statements
Besides these two incriminating evidences, head constable Dinesh, constable Sandeep as well as that of the driver of the PCR vehicle have been cited as chief witnesses. The CCTV footage of the Sector-26 grain market, liquor vend, KBDAV school, Khalsa College, used to corroborate the allegations in the victim’s complaint have also been relied upon in the challan.
Defence requests CCTV footage
Meanwhile, the defence counsel requested for CCTV footage of the police station when the complaint was filed as well as few other documents.
Whether the same are a part of the challan or not is yet to be known. The chargesheet also contains detailed map of the route the victim took when she was allegedly stalked and harassed along with few photographs.
The crime scene was also recreated by the police during the investigation, details of which have also been submitted as part of the challan.
The accused will now be produced before court through video conferencing on Friday as they are currently in judicial custody.
Sections of challans
The challan has been filed under Sections 341 (wrongful restraint) , 354 D (stalking), 365 (kidnapping or abducting with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine person), 511 (punishment for attempting to commit offences punishable with imprisonment for life or other imprisonment), 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code and 185 (drunken driving) of the Motors Vehicles (MV) Act.
Meanwhile, is likely that Barala will again apply for bail soon and since the challan had been submitted, the same would come up for hearing in Chandigarh district court as well and won’t have to move the HC. The two accused were first denied bail on August 29 and then Vikas Barala alone applied for bail which was also dismissed on September 12.