‘ARSON WAS PREPLANNED IN PANCHKULA’
Honeypreet quoted saying in 970page document that dera chief’s video message asking his followers to leave Panchkula before court verdict was sham
PANCHKULA : Violence in Panchkula and Sirsa on August 25 was pre-planned and was done with the intent to free Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim soon after his conviction, states the chargesheet police filed on Tuesday quoting the sect head’s adopted daughter Honeypreet.
Honeypreet purportedly gave the statement during her police custody last month, the police claimed in the 970-page document submitted in the court of judicial magistrate.
The three-page statement, believed to be signed by Honeypreet on October 11 along with two police witnesses, has been attached in the chargesheet.
Honeypreet, who has been charged as a main conspirator behind the arson, is quoted in the document saying that Ram Rahim’s PA Rakesh Kumar, who accompanied him along with his security guards on August 25, was given the responsibility of fleeing the dera chief after his conviction.
Also, Chamkaur Singh, the Panchkula dera in-charge, was given the responsibility to gather crowd in Panchkula with help of other committee members, who were to incite violence to divert the police attention and flee the dera chief, she is quoted
as saying in the chargesheet.
She further stated that the conspiracy was hatched at the Sirsa dera on August 17 in a meeting that was convened by her and dera chief spokesperson Aditya Insan in the presence of co-spokesperson Dilawar Insan, media coordinator Surinder Dhiman, legal adviser Dhan Singh, Rakesh Kumar besides Mohinder Singh, Gopal Insan, Jasbir Singh and dera IT cell in-charge Vikram Balkar.
She then stated that a day before the court verdict, the state agencies put pressure on Ram Rahim to issue an appeal to the dera followers in Panchkula to go back home. The appeal, she is quoted as saying, was sham as dera functionaries on the ground told the followers to stay put. As per the chargesheet, the self-styled godman’s commandos tried to flee him when his followers began clashing with security forces.
25 MORE TO FACE SEDITION CHARGES
Though the police have so far slapped sedition charges against 12 persons, including Honeypreet, as many as 25 people, mostly close aides of the dera head, will face Section 121 (waging war against the state) of the Indian Penal Code when they are arrested.