Dera violence: Honeypreet tops most wanted list

The Haryana Police on Monday released a list of the most wanted people for the violence by Dera Sacha Sauda sect followers last month. Sect Chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's close aide Honeypreet Kaur tops the list.

Another top aide of Ram Rahim named in the list is the absconding Dera spokesman Aditya Insan.

Photographs of 43 suspects responsible for instigating or indulging in the large-scale violence have also been released on the Haryana Police website.

The photographs have mostly been obtained from video footage of TV news channels and police videos and CCTV cameras installed at various places in Panchkula. The police have not been able to identify the accused by name so far.

Ram Rahim's conviction for rape led to violence in Panchkula town, adjoining Chandigarh on August 25 immediately after his conviction. The violence left 32 people dead in Panchkula and nearly 250 injured.

Nearly one lakh Dera followers had gathered illegally in Panchkula 2-3 days ahead of the rape verdict by the CBI special court.

Honeypreet Kaur, whose real name is Priyanka Taneja and is the controversial adopted daughter of Ram Rahim Singh, has been absconding since August 25 evening.

She had accompanied the disgraced godman from Sirsa till the CBI special court in Panchkula where he was convicted on two counts of rape.

She even accompanied Ram Rahim in the government helicopter from Panchkula to Rohtak after he was convicted in the rape cases and was being shifted to the prison near Rohtak.

The Haryana Police have booked Honeypreet Kaur for sedition and being involved in an alleged conspiracy to help Ram Rahim escape after his conviction.

The police have issued a lookout notice against her and raids are being conducted in various states to nab her.

Honeypreet, who is in her mid-30s and is considered closest to Ram Rahim, and has been his heroine in the five films that he has directed, produced and acted in, in the last three years.

Though both, Ram Rahim and Honeypreet, call themselves as the father-daughter duo, her former husband had accused both of having an illicit relationship.

Her writ ran in the Dera set up and the headquarters. Her clout was even bigger than the immediate family, including wife, son and daughters of Ram Rahim.

The police have also issued a lookout notice against Aditya Insan, a former eye specialist from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and Dera spokesman for many years.

He was last seen in Panchkula just minutes before the violence broke out.

Insan was booked with four other Dera functionaries for sedition and inciting violence.

--IANS

js/sar/vm