Varnika Kundu, the victim of the Chandigarh stalking case, has said BJP leaders who put out a private picture of hers, are attempting character- assassination by insinuating that one of my friends in the old picture is Vikas Barnala.
On August 5, Vikas Barala, the son of Haryana BJP chief Subhash Barala, was arrested on the charges of stalking and harassing the IAS officer's daughter in Chandigarh, omitting the grave accusation of abduction bid. He was, however, granted bail on the same day.
After the incident exploded, BJP supporters posted a picture of Kundu along with two men, one of whom, they said, was Barala, to allude that she knew Barala earlier. The standard caption for the picture- “So called victim daughter of IAS from Chandigarh with Vikas Barala. This story is as true as like Jasleen Kaur of Delhi & of Rohtak Sisters."
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Posts with the same caption and picture flooded Facebook and Twitter. BJP spokesperson Shaina NC posted the same on both social media accounts, later saying that they had been hacked.
Speaking to Outlook, Kundu says that the picture being circulated is an old one with friends of hers. "Anybody can see that it is not those guys. Right now these photos don’t seem to be worth even getting concerned with," she says.
"The photos are doing what is called character assassination, though," Kundu adds, saying that the attempts to sully her image do not affect her.
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"It is an attempt at character assassination. These guys can attempt it, at best. The more they try to do it, the stronger I will get. If they think they can use my pictures, from my social media sites against me, they are wrong. If I had to get scared I would have been scared right the night the incident took place."
A case was registered by the Chandigarh Police against Barala and another other youth under Section 354 D (stalking) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 185 (Motor Vehicle Act) of the CRPC on the basis of complaint filed by Kundu.
Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar said on Monday that the incident had no involvement of Subhash Barala. However, he assured that the accused, of found guilty, will be punished.
"I have complete faith on the Chandigarh Police. Justice will prevail. The accused will be punished once found guilty. This is my official stand on this matter. This case has nothing to do with Subhash Barala. Such act is highly condemnable if proved correct," the Chief Minister told the media.
Earlier, narrating the horrific ordeal, Kundu had told the media she was lucky for not being the daughter of a common man.
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"I'm lucky, it seems, to not be the daughter of a common man, because what chance would they have against such VIPs? I'm also lucky, because I'm not lying raped and murdered in a ditch somewhere," she had written in a post on Facebook.
