Chandigarh stalking victim Varnika Kundu on Monday faced as many as 500 questions for nearly five hours during a court hearing in the case in which Haryana BJP president Subhash Barala's son Vikas is the main accused, reported The Times of India.
During the cross-examination of DJ Varnika on Monday, Barala’s counsel Rabindra Pandit claimed that according to mobile tower location records, the former was at Chamkaur Sahib tehsil in Ropar district -- about 50 km away --about an hour before the incident occurred in Chandigarh on the night of the incident when she was allegedly stalked. But Varnika denied that, reported The Indian Express.
Vikas and his friend Kumar were arrested on August 9, 2017, for allegedly stalking and trying to abduct Varnika on August 4, 2017. The two allegedly chased Varnika in an SUV while she was driving to Panchkula from Chandigarh. A medical examination found that both men were drunk. Both denied they intended to abduct her.
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Varnika, the daughter of IAS officer VS Kundu, said in the court that her car had broken down a day before the incident, on August 3, and on August 4around 11.30 pm, her driver Sunil drove her from home to Sector 8, where her Chevrolet was parked, and then left. Varnika added that at 12.15 am on the intervening night of August 4 and 5, when she entered Sector 7 and was driving towards KB DAV School, she realised she was being followed.
As she reached the KB DAV light point, the car pulled over and blocked her car. When she turned right towards Sector 26, the accused car turned with her and tried to block her. It was then that she saw two men in that car. Varnika stated that she then drove towards Sector 26 and then to the light point between sectors 7 and 26, at St John’s School, she turned towards Madhya Marg, but the car kept blocking her way, added The Indian Express.
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The defence counsel Pandit said by going by the mobile tower location records, on the night ofAugust 4, at 11:23:19 pm, Varnika was near Fatehpur village at Chamkaur Sahib tehsil in Ropar district and since 11:23:19, she had been talking with her friend Anubhav Gaurang on the phone.
Citing call records Pandit added that she had called “100” only at 12.33 am.
By attempting to establish that Varnika was in Ropar an hour before the stalking episode took place and not DJing, the defence tried to discredit parts of her testimony, ToI added.
Pandit also claimed that Kundu’s father had forged her signature in the police complaint, and that she was not present in the station at all. Kundu denied the forgery allegations and said that a lawyer, Rajdeep Takoria, had accompanied her and her father to the police station.
Pandit had prepared his notes in Urdu, which meant prosecution lawyer Manu Kakkar could not read them, reported ToI.
