Ten days after he was appointed as a law officer in the Haryana Advocate General office, the name of BJP MP Subhash Barala’s son Vikas Barala, who is an accused in the 2017 Varnika Kundu stalking and attempted abduction case, has been dropped from the list.Sources in the Haryana Government said “since Vikas did not join, his name was dropped from the list”. An order issued by Additional Chief Secretary (Administration of Justice) Sumita Misra said, “The Haryana Governor is pleased to delete the name of Vikas (Barala), mentioned at serial number 4 on page 9 of the order of engagement of law officers dated July 18, 2025.”His appointment as Assistant Advocate General had triggered a controversy, with Varnika, the daughter of former IAS officer VS Kundu, criticising the BJP-led Haryana Government for the appointment.In a strongly worded post on her Instagram account, Varnika said, “Appointing someone to a public position of power is not only a political decision but it is also a reflection of values and standards. So, perhaps, the questions should be directed at the authorities whose ethics and standards allowed this decision to be made. Our policymakers run the country; the rest of us are just hoping they remember that they work for the Indian citizen.”Vikas was among the 97 law officers whose appointment was approved by the then Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya on July 18. The selection process was set rolling after the Advocate General’s office advertised 100 posts of law officers earlier this year. The government later formed a five-member committee, headed by the Advocate General, to finalise the appointments.The incident leading to the charges against Vikas and his friend Ashish Kumar occurred on August 5, 2017. His father Subhash Barala, now a Rajya Sabha MP, was then the Haryana BJP chief. The accused had allegedly followed the complainant’s car in their SUV and tried to block the way.Sources said the Haryana BJP leaders too were divided over the inclusion of Vikas’ name in the list. A section of the leadership maintained that the government should have awaited the outcome of the stalking case before approving the appointment. The sources said in view of the backlash, Subhash Barala himself had asked the government to drop his son’s name.
Haryana drops stalking accused Vikas Barala as law officer
