Varnika Kundu stalking case: Haryana removes Vikas Baralas name from list of law officers amid controversy

Varnika Kundu stalking case: Ten days after his inclusion in the list of new law officers by the Haryana AG office, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Haryana government has decided to drop Vikas Barala, who is facing accusations in a sexual harassment case. Sources within the Haryana Government confirmed that the Home Department communicated the decision to Barala, informing him that he would no longer be part of the law officers’ team.

Vikas Barala, who was named as an Assistant Advocate General (AAG) in a list of 97 law officers approved by the then Governor Bandaru Dattatreya on July 18, was selected after an advertisement for 100 law officer positions was released earlier this year. A five-member committee, headed by the Advocate General, oversaw the selection process.

The decision to remove Vikas Barala from the list comes after significant public backlash, particularly from Varnika Kundu, the daughter of former IAS officer VS Kundu, who accused Barala of stalking and attempting to abduct her in 2017. Varnika flayed the Haryana Government's decision to include him in the list of law officers in a post on her Instagram account, which resonated with many and further fueled the controversy.

In response to the growing outcry, the BJP was divided over the appointment. While some leaders argued that an ongoing case, which could take years to conclude, should not be held against him, others acknowledged that Barala’s appointment might have been influenced by his father, Subhash Barala, a Rajya Sabha MP with close ties to the central leadership.