Chandigarh stalking case: My transfer is prerogative of the government, says Varnika Kundu's father

Chandigarh: A day after he was transferred, IAS officer VS Kundu, whose daughter had last month accused state BJP chief Subhash Barala’s son and his friend of stalking, said on Wednesday that the decision to shift him was the prerogative of the Haryana government. Kundu also said he is satisfied with the role of Chandigarh police and the prosecution in the stalking case and that he does “not see any sign of witch-hunting” in his transfer. [caption id=“attachment_3911575” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Varnika Kundu. Image courtesy: Facebook[/caption] Kundu, IAS officer of the Haryana cadre who was holding the post of Additional Chief Secretary Tourist Department, has been posted as Additional Chief Secretary Science and Technology department. He was among the 14 IAS and two HCS officers who were transferred on Tuesday by the Haryana government. “It is the prerogative of the state government to transfer its employee and it is their call,” Kundu said. “I never questioned the motive of the state government in taking such decisions, and as an employer, it is the state government’s call to use an employee where it thinks best,” he said. “I do not see any sign of witch-hunting in this move,” he said. On the stalking case, Kundu praised both the Chandigarh police and the prosecution for working “pretty well” on this case. A court here on Tuesday dismissed the bail plea of Barala’s son Vikas, who had been booked on charges of stalking and attempting to abduct Kundu’s daughter Vartika. The woman had accused Vikas, 23, and his friend Ashish Kumar, 27, of stalking her. Both were arrested on the intervening night of 5 August following her complaint but were released on bail as they had been booked under bailable sections of the India Penal Code and the Motor Vehicles Act. They were arrested again on August 9 after they joined the police investigation and were then charged with attempted abduction under sections 365 and 511 of the IPC. The incident had triggered a spate of protests.