P’kula arson probe far from over; 31 alleged conspirators yet to be arrested

PANCHKULA: The probe into the August 25 arson in Panchkula seems to be far from over as the chargesheet filed last week against Honeypreet and 14 other accused reveals that apart from the main accused Aditya Insan, 31 other important dera members are wanted by the police for their direct role in inciting violence in Panchkula after the conviction of dera sacha sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim.

Honeypreet has been named the main conspirator of the Panchkula arson that claimed 36 lives here.

Police claimed that those in the wanted list, mostly dera’s executive committee members, were given different responsibilities to execute the conspiracy in the run up to the CBI court verdict against Gurmeet Ram Rahim in Panchkula.

Of them, Abhijeet Shankar alias Bablu, who hails from Satna district in Maharastra, played a vital role in passing on the news of Baba’s conviction from the court complex that immediately triggered the violence.

He was signalled of Baba’s conviction by PA Rakesh Kumar, who is already arrested and chargesheeted along with Honeypreet.

Police further claimed that another key dera member, Gobi Ram alias Naveen Nagpal of Rajasthan’s Hanumangarh district was present at the dera meeting on August 17 where the entire planning of Panchkula arson was hatched. Then he also was given ₹25 lakh by Honeypreet through PA Rakesh Kumar to make arrangements for the violence in Panchkula.

Dera chief’s driver Phul Singh, who is also at large, too had an important role, said chargesheet.

As per Honeypreet’s confessional statement, Phul Singh drove Ram Rahim on the day of his conviction in Panchkula and was given the duty to help him escape, along with PA Rakesh Kumar and his security guards, after conviction. Mohinder Insan, another wanted dera member, was present with another main accused Aditya Insan in Panchkula and was seen inciting the crowd to go after security forces.

Amrik, who looked after the Baba’s security, and dera supporter Iqbal alias Bhaggar played an important role in keeping Honeypreet in safe custody in different places during her 38-day hide out. They are yet to be arrested.

Then there are other executive members including Dalbir of Bhiwani district, Ved Prakash of Fatehabad, Rajkumar of Kethal, Om Pal of Jind, Ranbir Singh Vakil of Panipat, Umed Insan and Puran Chand of Fatehabad, who were part of the conspiracy

THE 31, MOSTLY DERA’S EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS, WERE GIVEN RESPONSIBILITIES TO EXECUTE THE ARSON