Haryana BJP chief’s son re-arrested for attempting to abduct girl

News Network

August 9, 2017

Chandigarh, Aug 9: The Chandigarh police today finally re-arrested Vikas Barala, the accused son of Haryana BJP president, and his accomplice after they were charged with attempted abduction in the high profile Varnika Kundu stalking case.

The arrest and pressing of fresh charges against the accused came five days after the incident that arguably exposed the ‘shoddy’ investigation by the cops in an alleged attempt to protect the politician's son.

The bail earlier granted to the accused was cancelled. The two accused were taken into custody. Their interrogation continued for long inside the police station.

The new IPC sections (365 and 511) added against the accused are non-bailable which means that the VIP accused law graduate Vikas will have to go to jail. The charges attract a maximum punishment of 7-years, Punjab and Haryana High Court advocate Mohit Garg told Deccan Herald.

Chandigarh DGP TS Luthra said the accused will be presented before the Court tomorrow. He said the police will seek their police remand which is necessary to corroborate evidence they have gathered so far in the case.

Victim Varnika, daughter of senior bureaucrat VS Kundu, reacted saying its a great development, but just the beginning of the process to justice.

Earlier in the day, the police pasted summons outside his house directing Vikas to appear before the police at 11 am on Wednesday. Nearly three hours later, Vikas and the other accused Ashish drove in an SUV to the police station.

The police had been dilly-dallying to charge Vikas under sections of attempted abduction. But amid allegations of succumbing to pressure and shoddy probe, the police found it difficult to resists criticism from various quarters including the media and the civil society.

After the flip-flop on the CCTV camera footage, it has now come to light that the blood and urine samples of the two accused were not taken to the hospital. This could have been crucial evidence in the case.

The duty doctor and the police said the two accused refused their blood and urine samples despite the doctor noting that the two were drunk.

It has also come to fore that BJP president Subhash Barala tried frantically to contact Varnika’s father VS Kundu that night when the incident took place. The father did not accept his calls.

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RuTAGe smart village centres in DK, Udupi to being technology closer to rural communities

News Network

January 20,2026

Mangaluru: In a major step towards strengthening rural innovation, the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the Government of India is supporting the establishment of RuTAGe Smart Village Centres (RSVCs) across the country through collaborations with academic institutions, civil society organisations and philanthropic partners.

As part of this national initiative, Nitte (Deemed to be University) will set up the first RSVCs in the region at Nitte GP in Udupi district and at the Nitte Health Centre, Sevanjali Trust, Farangipete, in Dakshina Kannada district. The centres will be inaugurated on January 21. In South India, the programme is being implemented by the Section Infin-8 Foundation (SI-8).

Speaking to reporters on Monday, SI-8 founder-director Vishwas US said experts from Nitte University and SI-8 would work closely with farmers, students, youth and local entrepreneurs to adapt and deploy technologies tailored to local needs.

Project head Prof Iddya Karunasagar, representing Nitte DU, said the RSVCs at Nitte and Farangipete would serve as demonstration hubs for a wide range of agriculture, energy, skill-development and assistive technologies. These include solar dryers for fruits, vegetables and crops; soil-testing solutions; power weeders and women-friendly farm tools; wind-powered devices for rural artisans; grain storage systems; grass-cutting and tree-climbing equipment; and liquid fertiliser production using cowshed waste.

SI-8 CEO Aravind C Kumar said the centres would also provide access to digital and knowledge-based platforms such as ISRO applications, government scheme portals, market linkage tools and gamified learning resources, along with assistive technologies for persons with visual impairments.

Highlighting the broader impact of the initiative, Principal Scientific Adviser Prof Ajay Kumar Sood said it demonstrated how applied research could bridge the rural–urban divide and help create self-reliant, technology-enabled villages.

The initiative has been made possible through philanthropic support from Dr NC Murthy of ACM Business Solutions, LLC, USA. Dr Sapna Poti, Director (Strategic Alliances) at the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser, said the long-term objective is to build self-sufficient, technology-driven communities capable of generating sustainable livelihoods on their own.

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