While most of us where shocked by the incidence of an IAS officer’s daughter being stalked in Chandigarh, the swift bail given to the accused, who is son of an influential political has left people enraged.

The two people who were arrested in Chandigarh got bail within a day, reported Hindustan Times. Haryana BJP chief Subhash Barala’s son Vikas and his friend Ashish Kumar were arrested on Saturday and released later.

The alleged culprits were charged with 354D of the Indian Penal Code which is a bailable offence for the first time, which is why they managed to get off. They were also charged with drunk driving and section 341 (wrongful restraint) which were also bailable offences.

Deputy DSP (east) Satish Kumar told Hindustan Times: “We registered a case against Vikas, a resident of Fatehabad, and Bhiwani resident Ashish, under sections 354D of the Indian Penal Code IPC and 185 of the Motor Vehicle Act (drunk driving) at the Sector 26 police station. They both are putting up in Sector 7, Chandigarh.” Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday assured that the son of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president Subhash Barala, who has been accused of allegedly stalking a woman, will be punished once found guilty.

According to a report in India Today, three charges slapped against Vikas Barala and his friend were dropped which included Sections 341, 365 and 511 of IPC.

The dropped sections are reportedly:

Section 341 – punishment for wrongful restraint

Section 365 – kidnapping or abducting with intent to confine

Section 511 - punishment for attempting to commit offences punishable with imprisonment for life or other imprisonment.

After dropping the charges, the two were given bail without being produced in court. Under fire for dropping the charges, police said they were seeking legal opinion on IPC sections 365 and 511.

Section 341 in The Indian Penal Code

341. Punishment for wrongful restraint.—Whoever wrongfully restrains any person shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to one month, or with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees, or with both.

Section 365 in The Indian Penal Code

Kidnapping or abducting with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine person.—Whoever kidnaps or abducts any person with intent to cause that person to be secretly and wrongfully con­fined, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine.

Section 511 in The Indian Penal Code

Punishment for attempting to commit offences punishable with imprisonment for life or other imprisonment.—Whoever attempts to commit an offence punishable by this Code with 1[imprisonment for life] or imprisonment, or to cause such an offence to be commit­ted, and in such attempt does any act towards the commission of the offence, shall, where no express provision is made by this Code for the punishment of such attempt, be punished with 2[imprisonment of any description provided for the offence, for a term which may extend to one-half of the imprisonment for life or, as the case may be, one-half of the longest term of imprison­ment provided for that offence], or with such fine as is provided for the offence, or with both.

Khattar promises justice

‘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. Meanwhile, the victim thanked Chandigarh Police for rescuing her on time, and pointed out that if she was a common man's daughter the case would not be taken so seriously."I was coming back to my home when they started stalking me. They tried to threaten me by trying to stop my car. Suddenly, they came in front of my car and blocked the way. I reversed my car immediately and called the police. Police heard whole the matter and assured me of providing the help. Soon the police came and arrested the accused. I am very thankful to Chandigarh Police who came to my rescue on time," the victim, who is the daughter of an IAS officer, told the media.

The victim narrated the entire horrified incident on social networking site Facebook. "I would like to share with you all a horrendous experience we went through last night. My daughter was returning home around midnight yesterday in her car when a couple of goons started following her in a Tata safari... They tried to block her car at the traffic signal, but she showed presence of mind and sped away. Chandigarh police was pretty efficient and helpful. They intercepted the goons, were responsive to her distress calls, and were neutral in filing the complaint," he said in Facebook post.

Vikas Barala was arrested on Saturday on the charges of stalking and harassing the IAS officer's daughter in Chandigarh. He was however, granted bail on the same day. A case was registered by the Chandigarh Police against Vikas and other youth under 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 the woman.

With inputs from agencies