CHANDIGARH: The Nayab Singh Saini-led BJP govt in Haryana has appointed Vikas Barala, an accused in the stalking and attempted abduction of the daughter of a former Haryana bureaucrat, as assistant advocate general in the office of advocate general (AG), Haryana.The AG Haryana-headed screening committee that recommended his appointment included Mani Ram Sharma, special secretary, home department, as nominee of additional chief secretary (home), legal remembrancer Ritu Garg, and two retired judges – Darshan Singh and H S Bhalla.Son of former Haryana BJP president and Rajya Sabha MP Subhash Barala, Vikas will be representing Haryana’s govt before judicial platforms in Delhi, including the Supreme Court.
The appointment order was issued by the Haryana home secretary on July 18. He is among seven law officers appointed by Haryana’s govt for the state’s legal cell in Delhi. A total of 96 law officers of the rank of additional advocate general, senior deputy advocates general, deputy advocate general and assistant advocates general, were appointed by the state on July 18 to represent the state before the Punjab and Haryana high court at Chandigarh and in Delhi. Vikas Barala did not respond to TOI’s calls for his comments. Usually, those affiliated with the ruling party are appointed law officers and their tenure is co-terminus with the party in power.The criminal trial against Vikas is on before a Chandigarh court, with the next hearing on Aug 2. Prosecution evidence is being recorded at this stage of the trial.According to the complaint, on Aug 5, 2017, Vikas Barala and his friend Ashish had allegedly followed a bureaucrat’s daughter and tried to stop the car of a senior Haryana bureaucrat. The girl called Chandigarh police, who apprehended the youths and filed a case against them under IPC 354D (stalking) and the Motor Vehicle Act. Later, police added two more sections for attempted kidnapping and arrested the accused, who eventually made bail. Vikas’s father, Subhash Barala, was then Haryana BJP president.
