Haryana Police has found evidence of Honeypreet Insan’s hand in incidents of violence in Panchkula following the Dera Sacha Sauda chief’s conviction in a rape case on August 25, Panchkula Police Commissioner AS Chawla has claimed.
Chawla said 36-year-old Honeypreet, who claims to be the adopted daughter of jailed sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, was misleading and not cooperating with the police during her interrogation.
Honeypreet, whose real name is Priyanka Taneja, was arrested by Haryana Police on October 3 in connection with the deadly violence that had claimed 35 lives.
Asked if Honeypreet’s hand in incidents of violence had come to light, Chawla said, “According to the evidence we have gathered so far, she definitely has a hand in this.”
The police would put the evidence and other facts before the court, he said without elaborating.
A lookout notice had been issued earlier against Honeypreet.
However, she evaded the police by moving from one place to another in several states, including Rajasthan, Punjab and Delhi, according to police.
The officer said Honeypreet, who is currently in police custody, was not cooperating in the investigation.
“Her attitude is not proper with regard to investigation being conducted. Initially, she tried to feign ignorance.
“When she was confronted with facts and evidence about what happened in Panchkula, she started misleading,” he alleged and hoped she would cooperate in the probe.
He said Honeypreet was taken to Bathinda to verify the information she had given to the police. “We found that the entire information given by her was turning out to be false after which we decided to return,” the officer said.
The police was keen to ensure that the entire conspiracy is unearthed. “We are hopeful that we will be able to dig out the truth,” he said.
Replying to a question, Chawla said if anyone’s role in Panchkula violence came to light during investigation, that person would be asked to join investigation irrespective of the individual’s stature.
If the need arose, the person would be arrested, he said.
Asked if any political leader had given shelter to Honeypreet when she was on the run, the police officer said, “At this stage, I do not think it will be appropriate to comment on this.”
Chawla said that during interrogation of some other arrested accused, it had been alleged that an amount of Rs 1.25 crore was distributed to some Dera members to arrange logistics for inciting violence in Panchkula on August 25 if the Dera chief was convicted in the rape case.
To a query, he said raids were on to nab Aditya Insan and Pawan Insan, the other key Dera functionaries accused of involvement in the violence. “Our raids are going on continuously and we are hopeful of making early arrests,” he said.
About Aditya Insan, Chawla said a lookout notice had been issued against him earlier. “There is no input that Aditya has fled the country,” he said to a query.
Meanwhile, Chawla appealed to the media to refrain from publishing or broadcasting any news pertaining to the ongoing investigation “that is speculative and not certified”.
“Such news is confusing the common man and it is also affecting the media’s credibility,” he said. He denied that the Panchkula police had sent a notice to the 45-member Dera committee.
