Panchkula cops say Dera violence was pre-planned; Honeypreet keeps mum to probe questions

Days after Dera Sacha Sauda followers had incited riots in many parts of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi following the conviction of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh for raping two of his devotees, the Panchkula police recently said that the plan to trigger violence if the court’s ruling did not come in Singh’s favour was hatched at the Dera headquarters in Sirsa.

This information was revealed by the police in a local court in Panchkula when they were seeking 14 days remand for Honeypreet Insan to interrogate her in detail.

“The plans to vandalise properties and create chaos were made well in advance before Singh’s verdict which was scheduled on August 25. The conspiracy was devised on August 17,” the police said.

Though the police had information that the violence was planned beforehand, they needed to interrogate Honeypreet to conclude their observations.

The Haryana government’s counsel said that they wanted to interview Honeypreet in order to determine her role in the August 17 meeting.

However, Insan’s lawyer, in her defence, said that the police had arrested her for her role in the August 25 violence and therefore they cannot question her or link her to the August 17 meeting.

In fact, her counsel claimed that she was innocent and was not responsible for the violence that followed after the verdict of Ram Rahim. 

“She came with her father in heavy police security. All were in a good mood but unfortunately the verdict came against them. She was immediately taken to Rohtak with the dera chief in a helicopter. Under such circumstances, she cannot be held responsible for any conspiracy related to the August 25 violence,” S K Garg Narwana, who appeared for Honeypreet told the local court.

Honeypreet, who has been remanded to six-day police custody by a Panchkula court, has refused to open up to the investigating officers. She answered to their 40-odd questions with either silence or ‘I don’t know’.

Earlier, two Dera Sacha Sauda followers, who were arrested by the Sangrur district police of Punjab on September 3 for spreading violence, had admitted that they were directed to target public buildings in the Malwa region if the Panchkula court’s ruling did not come in their chief’s favour.

“We attended a meeting in Sirsa at 2 am on August 17 and were told to target public buildings if the verdict went against our Guruji,” accused Duni Chand said while in police custody.