Punjab govt rejects reports of shielding Honeypreet

The Punjab government today rejected reports that Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's aide Honeypreet Insan was in the custody of the Punjab Police or she was being shielded by the state government.
The Haryana Police arrested Honeypreet, 36, earlier today from Zirakpur-Patiala road in connection with the violence that followed Ram Rahim Singh's conviction on August 25.
A Punjab government spokesperson said the state was not involved in the case beyond supporting the Haryana Police with intelligence and other relevant inputs.
The spokesperson refuted reports on the social media that suggested Honeypreet was in Punjab Police's custody before her arrest. "There was no question of the Punjab Police taking Honeypreet into custody as there was no criminal case registered against her in the state, nor was she in any wanted list," said the spokesperson.

The Punjab government, particularly the police and intelligence departments, were merely providing inputs to the neighbouring state in the interest of justice and to maintain law and order in the region, according to the spokesperson.
Right from the outbreak of the Dera crisis, the Punjab Police had been sharing information on the activities of the followers of Ram Rahim Singh, who was indicted and punished on rape charges.

The Punjab government, said the spokesperson, had been extending all possible help to the neighbouring state, which it will continue to ensure that peace is maintained.
The Punjab government would not try to protect Honeypreet, who has cases registered against her in Haryana, where she has been declared a "wanted criminal", the spokesperson asserted.

The clarification came after a section of the media reported, citing sources, that the adopted daughter of the Dera chief was in the custody of Punjab police saying that the Punjab government machinery was shielding Honeypreet.