Chandigarh stalking case: CCTV footages of incident found claims police

The Chandigarh Police has confirmed that it has retrieved CCTV footage of the incident of alleged stalking by Haryana BJP chief’s son Vikas Barala and his friend, who followed an IAS officer’s daughter’s car on her way home.

“The Chandigarh Police have retrieved footage of five CCTV cameras on the route, capturing the chase of victim’s vehicle by the alleged vehicle of the accused,” a Chandigarh Police officer was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times. He confirmed that the footage showed the victim’s car being followed by a white SUV. The police had received flak earlier on Monday after they said the CCTVs along the route were non-functional.

The disclosure came after the administration admitted that the cameras it installed on the stretch where the alleged stalking took place on the night of August 4 could not be retrieved because the cameras were “non-functional” since August 1. Asked about the CCTVs, Chief Engineer Mukesh Anand said, “Out of 93 CCTV cameras in the city, 23 are non-functional. I have been told that due to some digging work, a power supply wire got disconnected, leaving 23 cameras non-functional.” Asked if these “non-functional” cameras included those on the stretch where the victim was allegedly stalked, he said, “Yes, I have been told that it includes that stretch.” SSP (Traffic) Shashank Anand said. “Only 42 cameras were in working condition. We communicated this to the engineering department, and got a reply that they had some issues over payment to the company, which does the annual maintenance work.”