Justice will prevail, guilty will be punished: Khattar on Haryana 'stalking' case

HISAR: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday assured that the son of BJP state president Subhash Barala, who was accused of allegedly stalking a woman, will be punished once found guilty. "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 here. This was the second statement by the Chief Minister as earlier he reiterated that it was not right to punish BJP leader Subhash Barala for his son's crime. "I came to know about this incident. Chandigarh Police has filed the complaint and I believe they will take appropriate action. This matter is not related with Subhash Barala but with an individual. So action would be taken against his son," Khattar told media. The son of the Haryana BJP president was arrested for allegedly chasing a young woman in an SUV across 6km in Chandigarh on Saturday and making lewd comments and gestures while trying to stop her car. Nabbed after the woman sent an emergency call to the police from her car, law student Vikas Barala and his friend Ashish Kumar were sent for a medical examination that confirmed that both were drunk, officers had said. The arrests came a day after BJP national president Amit Shah had praised Haryana's Manohar Lal Khattar government for purportedly improving the security of women in the state. Vikas's father Subhash Barala is a member of the Haryana Assembly apart from being the state BJP chief. After initially refusing comment, he told this newspaper his party would accept the outcome of the police investigation. Both accused received bail on Sunday. (With ANI inputs)