Security upped in Panchkula as Honeypreet likely to surrender

Panchkula (Haryana): Security was tightened around Panchkula district court complex and Panchkula police commissioner’s office today amid reports that Honeypreet Insan, the adopted daughter of jailed Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, may surrender after remaining elusive for over a month.

Priyanka Taneja alias Honeypreet topped the list of 43 people ‘wanted’ by the Haryana Police in connection with the incidents of violence that left 41 people dead and several injured following Ram Rahim’s conviction in two rape cases. Honeypreet told a TV channel from an “undisclosed” location yesterday that she was seeking legal opinion on her next step and was likely to move the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

However, anticipating that Honeypreet might surrender before Panchkula district court, security was beefed up in the district court complex there. All vehicles on roads approaching the court complex and Panchkula police commissioner’s office were being thoroughly checked. Meanwhile, Haryana police said their efforts to arrest Honeypreet were on. “Our efforts to arrest her will continue,” a Haryana police official said.

Honeypreet had accompanied Ram Rahim from sect headquarters at Sirsa to a special CBI court in Panchkula on August 25. After the Dera chief’s conviction, she also accompanied him in a chopper to Rohtak jail. ‘Papa’s angel’ allegedly went missing thereafter. A lookout notice and an arrest warrant were issued by the Haryana Police against Honeypreet after she was booked at Sector 5 police station in Panchkula along with Dera functionaries Aditya Insan and Surinder Dhiman for allegedly inciting violence in Panchkula in the aftermath of the Dera head’s conviction.

The Haryana Police have been conducting searches at various locations, including the India-Nepal border, to trace Honeypreet and two other key Dera functionaries – Aditya Insan and Pawan Insan.
On September 26, the Delhi High Court had dismissed the transit anticipatory bail plea of Honeypreet Insan. The court’s order was based on the grounds that she had been evading arrest and hence was not entitled to any discretionary relief.